We propose an immediate halt to all home foreclosures until new uniform, permanent and enforceable guidelines can be added to the loan-modification process.

Countless American homeowners across the nation have spent hundreds of hours dealing with mortgage servicers who have little incentive to actually help them/us achieve permanent loan modifications; while in the process of obtaining a modification, many homeowners have been lied to, misled, foreclosed upon or threatened with foreclosure. One of the current Federal programs is the Home Affordable Modification Plan (HAMP). This is program is broken and failing miserably for several reasons:                                                                        

1. HAMP is a dismal failure. HAMP was established last year by the federal government to save homeowners from foreclosure. In that first year, though, foreclosures have actually risen. Of those homeowners who did apply for assistance, fewer than 17% were helped. And in most of those cases, the fix was just a temporary interest-rate reduction, adding to larger payments in the future.


2. Proposed fixes are band-aid solutions. A temporary measure was instituted recently from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that threw $14 billion in taxpayer dollars to support principal reductions for some borrowers.  This is a commendable effort, but again temporary, until the $14 billion runs out.


3. Banks are not taking HAMP seriously. In administering HAMP or TARP modifications, the banks have run amok in their different interpretations of how to administer the programs. Borrowers report getting different answers by different officials within the same bank. They report banks repeatedly losing paperwork or denying modifications for odd reasons. They report the foreclosure process beginning anew after the modified payments are made.

We propose there be clear and enforceable guidelines regarding the time between the initial request for a modification and the achievement of a permanent modification.

We advocate that the government:

• Oversee the loan-modification process with a new Consumer Protection Agency


• Demand that the banks adhere to a set and prescribed formula that does not waver when negotiating with borrowers.


• Mandate that banks assign one person who will %u201Csee a modification request through from start to finish.


• Set clear and enforceable timelines for banks when administering the modification process.


• Punish banks that do not do their part to permanently modify qualifying loans

If you would like to the see the government add some teeth to its efforts to get the housing market back on its feet and reign in the banks that are not taking their roles seriously at the expense of the consumer, please sign this petition.