Administration Urges Servicers to Modify More Loans

Obama administration officials want servicers to pick up the pace of loan modifications and qualify at least 500,000 homeowners for 90-day trial modifications by Nov. 1, according to Treasury Department and HUD officials. "The administration has established a goal of reaching half a million modifications," HUD secretary Shaun Donovan said after meeting with servicers that are participating in the President's Making Home Affordable program. "I am confident that the best practices shared today, combined with more transparent reporting methods, better communication among all parties, and a strong commitment from servicers, will ensure that we can ramp up the MHA program's pace to meet these ambitious goals," secretary Donovan said. Servicers already have over 200,000 borrowers on trials to see if they can make three monthly payments on time, which is required before a modified loan can be finalized. The July 28 meeting allowed servicers and administration officials to exchange ideas on how to improve the modification program, said Paul Leonard, vice president at the Financial Servicers Roundtable Housing Policy Conference. He noted that servicers suggested the creation of a universal web portal would helpful so homeowners could in-put their information and speed processing for servicers. "That is one of the issues they will keep working on," Mr. Leonard said. "We hope these kind of meetings will continue," he added.