When the Obama administration launched the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in 2009, it was suggested that the program would “help as many as 3 to 4 million financially struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure by modifying loans”. That has not exactly happened.
What has happened is that 865,100 homeowners have received a modification, and over 1/4 of them, 306,538 to be exact, have redefaulted on their modified mortgage, according to a report released last week by the TARP watchdog.
Source: sigtarp.gov
According to the report, a troubling trend has emerged: the longer homeowners remain in HAMP, the more likely they are to default. Almost half (46%) of the oldest HAMP modifications from 2009 have since redefaulted. And “with each day that passes, more and more homeowners fall out of the HAMP program”.
And those who haven’t defaulted (yet) are still at risk – 88,813 homeowners who are still active in the program have missed 1 or 2 monthly payments.
The really bad news: the Treasury Department has distributed $4.4 billion in TARP funds for HAMP. And out of that, taxpayers have lost $815 million on HAMP redefaults.
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