Servicers Complain About HAMP

Residential servicers on Thursday told a House panel that consecutive changes to the Treasury Department's foreclosure prevention program have made it increasingly difficult to keep distressed borrowers in their homes. Mortgage consultant Edward Pinto described the Home Affordable Modification Program in two words: "numbing complexity," noting that HAMP has 800 requirements and servicers are expected to certify compliance," he said. "With ever-changing regulations, a constant need to re-evaluate past decisions in light of new regulations, and multiple appeals, it is no wonder that the HAMP pipeline became clogged through no substantial fault of servicers." HAMP was created to help financially strained borrowers avoid foreclosure, but the program's performance, to date, has been lackluster. On Thursday, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held the second of two hearings to assess HAMP's progress. This latest hearing is focusing on what servicers are doing to ensure borrowers receive adequate relief.