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How helpful is the foreclosure help?
A foreclosure sign
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TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: It's been exactly 3 months since the Obama Administration unveiled a plan to help people avoid foreclosure. It's called "Making Home Affordable." The nation's largest banks and loan servicers are participating even though it's voluntary. But is it working? Tamara Keith reports.
TAMARA KEITH: Sub-prime loans touched off the foreclosure crisis. Now Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says the recession is driving it.
SHAUN DONOVAN: Job loss is the primary driver today of new foreclosures and this new program can definitely help.
So far banks and servicers have offered loan modifications to 55,000 homeowners, a far cry from the millions it promises to help. Some consumer advocates say it's still a step forward.
But others say servicers are hard to reach and not up to speed. Bruce Marks is with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. He says some companies aren't serious about helping.
BRUCE MARKS: While they're working through the bugs and the solutions and overcoming the roadblocks, hundreds of thousands of homeowners are being foreclosed on.
Marks says the program has barely made a dent.
In Washington, I'm Tamara Keith for Marketplace.
This story is SO true. I've been trying to work with Indymac, my mortgage company, since February. They have asked me for financial info over the phone, then to fill out one form, then another, then go on their website and do it there (saying they never got what I gave them), then asked me to fax pages of financial attestations which I had previously provided (and for which I had to pay $10 to fax from Staples).... I call and get nothing but a "robotic" answer from the customer service reps. There are NO answers. I'm only asking for a lower monthly payment. I want to keep my house. But I feel that loan servicing companies are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what more assistance they can squeeze out of our government. With what they already have, they could totally help people like me; however, they want more but keep giving less! They don't seem to care that people will lose their homes. All they want is more fed assistance. Please help us!
