Communication between homeowners and their servicers remains the most frequently reported challenge for housing counselors, the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program said.
Thirty-eight percent of counselors surveyed by the program cited lack of communication as a concern, a decrease of only 2% since October 2013.
Because of an improvement in the rate of serious default and foreclosure cases, servicers have slashed their loss-mitigation department staff, resulting in disrupted communication lines with homeowners. But NFMC warns that foreclosures and defaults might rise again due to an impending rise in loan modifications.
"Servicer interactions with counselors have dramatically improved from a few years ago," said Nicole Harmon, NFMC's vice president, in a Thursday press release. "But we would like to see the trend line continue to improve, not flatten out. That is what would be best for homeowners and counselors."
