By the Numbers: A Revealing Look at the Mortgage Mod Meltdown

By the Numbers: A Revealing Look at the Mortgage Mod Meltdown

by Olga Pierce and Paul Kiel
ProPublica, March 8, 2011, 12:37 p.m.

For the past year, we've been digging into the administration's fumbling efforts [1]. We've crunched a lot of numbers along the way, and now we're sharing what we found – including loads of previously unreported data.

Using new Treasury Department figures, previously unreleased documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, and new analyses of state and industry data, we have assembled the most detailed look yet at how the the mortgage industry [2] and the government's main effort, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), have failed homeowners. It provides crucial context to the ongoing government investigation into mortgage servicing practices, which might lead to reforms [3] of how banks and servicers handle homeowner requests for modifications.

Here's what we learned:

• Only a fraction of struggling homeowners are getting help.…
  
• Mortgage servicers are only reaching a small fraction of struggling homeowners.…
  
• The largest servicers, especially Bank of America, have left most struggling homeowners in limbo without either modifying or foreclosing.
  
• HAMP itself hasn't made much difference: It hasn't led to an increase in modifications.…
  
• Just over one in five homeowners who applied for a HAMP mod have received a permanent modification…
  
• And in one quarter of rejections, mortgage servicers - notorious for losing documents - have cited missing documents as the reason.
  
• Here are your overall chances of getting a mod with each of the top servicers.
  
• Treasury claims servicers are improving, but its own data show otherwise.
  
• When servicers offer a mod, it's generally more affordable than mods used to be.…
  
• But instead of mods, servicers have recently been offering more repayment plans, which actually increase struggling homeowners' payments.
  
• In the end, most government funds set aside to help homeowners are still unused.

There are many great graphics in the rest of the article. Read more.