NEWS FLASH

Federal Program Meant To Help Underwater Homeowners Is Coming Up Woefully Short | The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which was supposed to help 3 to 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure, has fallen far short of its goals, as “nearly 870,000 struggling homeowners have been kicked out of the initiative, while just 657,044 remain in permanent modifications.” And as Bloomberg News noted today, the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) is not faring much better: “A U.S. program to help as many as 5 million homeowners refinance their mortgages is being hindered by reluctant lenders, suffering a similar fate to the government’s main foreclosure-prevention effort.” Thus far, just 810,000 homeowners have refinanced through HARP.