{ "id": "R40210", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R40210", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 587150, "date": "2017-03-28", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T14:41:42.843087", "title": "Preserving Homeownership: Foreclosure Prevention Initiatives", "summary": "The home mortgage foreclosure rate began to rise rapidly in the United States beginning around the middle of 2006 and remained elevated for several years thereafter. Losing a home to foreclosure can harm households in many ways; for example, those who have been through a foreclosure may have difficulty finding a new place to live or obtaining a loan in the future. Furthermore, concentrated foreclosures can negatively impact nearby home prices, and large numbers of abandoned properties can negatively affect communities. Finally, elevated levels of foreclosures can destabilize housing markets, which can in turn negatively impact the economy as a whole. \nIn the years that followed the increase in foreclosure rates, there was a broad consensus that there are many negative consequences associated with high numbers of foreclosures. There was less consensus over whether the federal government should have a role in preventing foreclosures and, if so, what that role should be. Nevertheless, in the years after the foreclosure rate began to rise, Congress and both the Bush and Obama Administrations created a variety of temporary initiatives aimed at preventing further increases in foreclosures and helping more families preserve homeownership. These efforts included several initiatives that remained active through 2016 or beyond, including\nthe Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), \nthe Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), \nthe Hardest Hit Fund,\nthe Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refinance Program, and \nthe National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMCP). \nTwo other initiatives, Hope for Homeowners and the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP), expired at the end of FY2011. \nSome of these federal foreclosure prevention initiatives were criticized as being ineffective or less effective than had been hoped. This led some policymakers to suggest that changes should be made to these initiatives to try to make them more effective, while other policymakers argued that some of these initiatives should be eliminated entirely. For example, in the 112th Congress, the House of Representatives passed a series of bills that, if enacted, would have terminated several foreclosure prevention initiatives (including HAMP and the FHA Short Refinance Program) prior to their intended end dates. However, these bills were not considered by the Senate.\nWhile many observers agreed that slowing the pace of foreclosures was an important policy goal, several challenges have complicated such efforts. These challenges have included implementation issues, such as deciding who has the authority to make mortgage modifications, developing the capacity to complete widespread modifications, and assessing the possibility that homeowners with modified loans might default again in the future. 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Losing a home to foreclosure can harm households in many ways; for example, those who have been through a foreclosure may have difficulty finding a new place to live or obtaining a loan in the future. Furthermore, concentrated foreclosures can negatively impact nearby home prices, and large numbers of abandoned properties can negatively affect communities. Finally, elevated levels of foreclosures can destabilize housing markets, which can in turn negatively impact the economy as a whole. \nThere is a broad consensus that there are many negative consequences associated with high foreclosure rates. There is less consensus over whether the federal government should have a role in preventing foreclosures and, if so, what that role should be. Nevertheless, in the years since the foreclosure rate began to rise, Congress and both the Bush and Obama Administrations have created a variety of temporary initiatives aimed at preventing further increases in foreclosures and helping more families preserve homeownership. These efforts currently include the Making Home Affordable program, which includes both the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP); the Hardest Hit Fund; the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refinance Program; and the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMCP). Two other initiatives, Hope for Homeowners and the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP), expired at the end of FY2011. \nSome of these existing federal foreclosure prevention initiatives have been criticized as being ineffective or less effective than had been hoped. This has led some policymakers to suggest that changes should be made to these initiatives to try to make them more effective, while other policymakers have argued that some of these initiatives should be eliminated entirely. For example, in the 112th Congress, the House of Representatives passed a series of bills that, if enacted, would have terminated several foreclosure prevention initiatives (including HAMP and the FHA Short Refinance Program). However, these bills were not considered by the Senate.\nWhile many observers agree that slowing the pace of foreclosures is an important policy goal, there are several challenges associated with designing and carrying out foreclosure prevention initiatives. These challenges include implementation issues, such as deciding who has the authority to make mortgage modifications, developing the capacity to complete widespread modifications, and assessing the possibility that homeowners with modified loans will default again in the future. Other challenges are related to the perception of unfairness in providing help to one set of homeowners over others, the possibility of inadvertently providing incentives for borrowers to default, and the possibility of setting an unwanted precedent for future mortgage lending.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R40210", "sha1": "13347ee894613f56271d2c4a2242057c3b1f9e75", "filename": "files/20160916_R40210_13347ee894613f56271d2c4a2242057c3b1f9e75.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R40210", "sha1": "cc573bf3ac5ae445da4cdb76c4a2ed942f02490d", "filename": "files/20160916_R40210_cc573bf3ac5ae445da4cdb76c4a2ed942f02490d.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4775, "name": "Consumer Finance Protection" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4918, "name": "Homeownership & Housing Finance" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 441351, "date": "2015-05-14", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:03:59.953782", "title": "Preserving Homeownership: Foreclosure Prevention Initiatives", "summary": "The home mortgage foreclosure rate began to rise rapidly in the United States beginning around the middle of 2006, and it has remained elevated ever since. Losing a home to foreclosure can harm households in many ways; for example, those who have been through a foreclosure may have difficulty finding a new place to live or obtaining a loan in the future. Furthermore, concentrated foreclosures can negatively impact nearby home prices, and large numbers of abandoned properties can negatively affect communities. Finally, elevated levels of foreclosures can destabilize housing markets, which can in turn negatively impact the economy as a whole. \nThere is a broad consensus that there are many negative consequences associated with rising foreclosure rates. Since the foreclosure rate began to rise, Congress and both the Bush and Obama Administrations have initiated efforts aimed at preventing further increases in foreclosures and helping more families preserve homeownership. These efforts currently include the Making Home Affordable program, which includes both the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP); the Hardest Hit Fund; the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refinance Program; and the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program (NFMCP). Two other initiatives, Hope for Homeowners and the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP), expired at the end of FY2011. \nWhile there is a broad consensus that there are many negative consequences related to foreclosures, there is less consensus over whether the federal government should have a role in preventing foreclosures and, if so, what that role should be. Furthermore, many existing federal foreclosure prevention initiatives have been criticized as being ineffective. This has led some policymakers to suggest that changes should be made to these initiatives to try to make them more effective, while other policymakers have argued that some of these initiatives should be eliminated entirely. For example, in the 112th Congress, the House of Representatives passed a series of bills that, if enacted, would have terminated several foreclosure prevention initiatives. However, these bills were not considered by the Senate.\nWhile many observers agree that slowing the pace of foreclosures is an important policy goal, there are several challenges associated with designing and carrying out foreclosure prevention initiatives. These challenges include implementation issues, such as deciding who has the authority to make mortgage modifications, developing the capacity to complete widespread modifications, and assessing the possibility that homeowners with modified loans will default again in the future. Other challenges are related to the perception of unfairness in providing help to one set of homeowners over others, the problem of inadvertently providing incentives for borrowers to default, and the possibility of setting an unwanted precedent for future mortgage lending.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R40210", "sha1": "b0ab451bb66c18cd5fb6e3db8820e5c768b876e2", "filename": "files/20150514_R40210_b0ab451bb66c18cd5fb6e3db8820e5c768b876e2.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R40210", "sha1": "7975162771e93fe6c72029cf7f90e8711f05e086", "filename": "files/20150514_R40210_7975162771e93fe6c72029cf7f90e8711f05e086.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3098, "name": "Consumer Protection" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4306, "name": "Homeownership Assistance" } ] }, { "source": 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