Leadpile’s Blog

Some say they see a light at the end of the tunnel regarding our nation’s economy getting better. However, this process does not seem to be going fast enough for some who are still struggling with keeping their jobs and their homes. “Making Home Affordable” initiative rolled out by the Obama administration in February had great intent, however the ability to have some of these mortgage reworked is not seeming to be very easy for homeowners. NPR.org points out, “”Through this plan, we will help between 7 and 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages so they can avoid foreclosure,” the president promised. Obama said there would be a special plan for people with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and that homeowners had to be putting more than 31 percent of their gross income toward their monthly mortgage payment to qualify.” Getting help from lenders does not appear to be going very smoothly for some, yet what is there to do to get the much needed help? It seems constant calling and getting to the right person at your lenders office could help. Unfortunately, this article points out that some lenders will have you “get in line” to get help, unless you get some sort of media attention or help from congress. That doesn’t seem to fair to the average Joe who would not know what action steps to take to get this extra “press” coverage on their story. Isn’t there an easier process that our nation’s consumers can follow to get this much deserved help that the administration rolled out?

Imagine this….. you fell behind on your mortgage and you are going to have to move out of the home you spent your hard earned money building to your satisfaction. Out of anger you do some things to this home to express your frustration of the situation you are now in. Broken windows, damaged walls, and you decide on your way out you are going to put a nice little hammer to the A/C unit.
Unfortunately, this consumer’s damaged house needs to be then put up for sale by the bank for some other consumer to purchase. Who is going to want to purchase a home that requires so many repairs before even moving in? Fortunately, someone else’s “garbage” is another person’s treasures. With a great deal on the home, that home sells to a new consumer who sees so much potential with this damaged foreclosed home. The new homeowner also did their homework and found out with the Obama Plan, there are tax credits available to homeowners for things such as windows, HVAC, and a few other home improvements. In an effort to help consumers who are willing to purchase these damaged foreclosure homes, and for those that have to stay in their home and can not sell, the Federal Government rolled out some great tax credits for 2009 and 2010. The tax credits available are up to 30% of the cost of the designated repairs up to $1,500. There have been tax credits available to consumers in previous years, however to this level they have never been available.
Leadpile Lead Exchange works with the home improvement vertical and thinks maybe assistance like this, will only help with the demand for this lead type. Leadpile is currently looking for publishers that can potentially bring in this lead type so we can connect homeowners wanting to take advantage of these credits, with the advertisers that want to provide the services.

Companies working with consumers to modify their mortgages has been going on for almost a year now. However, Ocwen Financial Corp (a servicer of sub-prime mortgage) is one of the first mortgage servicers to begin modifying mortgages under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program. The new government program was rolled out in an effort to help mortgage holders who are potentially going to fall behind on their mortgages.
According to Business Journal,”For a loan modification, lenders would have to reduce the mortgage payments to no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s income. The Treasury Department would share the cost for lenders to cut that debt-to-income ratio to 31 percent.
Loans could be extended to up to 40 years. Those lenders who do participate would have to modify all loans, not just the worst ones. Loans originated before Jan. 1 are eligible for the program, which runs through 2012. Homeowners who have an unpaid principal balance of as much as $729,750 can participate. There are also incentives for firms such as Ocwen (NYSE: OCN) that service these loans.
They will receive an upfront fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established created by the initiative. They will also receive “pay for success” monthly fees – as long as the borrower stays current on the loan – of up to $1,000 a year for three years.”
Leadpile Lead Exchange has seen the loan modification lead type go through periods of high demand to not much demand. Maybe this lead type has some more life in itself in our marketplace. There still seems to be consumers that will want to be a part of this new government plan. We shall see…..