The bank had 16 workshops scheduled for a period of 14 months. According to officials, these events have been successful and were found to be better than dealing with borrowers' concerns over the telephone. They stated that the feeling of personalized assistance went well with the homeowners while at the same time, representatives from the bank found it easier to make immediate decisions on whether a borrower is qualified for assistance or not since they can get the information needed from the homeowners themselves.

At the Southern California two-day event, around 2,000 distressed borrowers attended to get stop foreclosures help. They were joined by 200 representatives from the bank that include people who are fluent in Spanish. Wells Fargo held publicity schemes three weeks before the actual workshop was to be held. The lender also sent letters to their customers, with particular focus on those who have already contacted the bank's foreclosure mitigation unit and those who are already 60 days or more delayed in their loan payments.

Attendees of the workshops were requested to bring all necessary documents related to their properties. Officials from Wells Fargo have stated that for those who attended, between 20% and 40% were able to find out immediately whether they qualify for assistance or not. The assistance offered by the bank ranges from mortgage modification to short sales approval. The modification option can be either a temporary payment suspension or lowered monthly loan payments.

Representatives at the workshops reported that majority of those who got assistance received it in the form of mortgage modification which is either permanent or in trial form. Modification approvals, representatives have revealed will depend on who owns a borrower's mortgage. Wells Fargo further stated that the success of the stop foreclosures help workshops made them decide to raise the number of forums in 2011.

Stop Foreclosures Help Provided by Wells Fargo through Workshops is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Experts stated that this is one of the most negative aspects of the housing market crisis, where troubled homeowners who are hoping to save their properties through modification are taken by surprise by lenders who continue the process of foreclosure and sell off their homes even before the modification attempt has reached its conclusion.

There have also been reports of homeowners being evicted from their properties while in the process of negotiating for a mortgage modification. In other cases, families just pack up their belongings and leave before banks can repossess their homes. Housing data showed that over 2.5 million houses in the U.S. have been foreclosed or repossessed by banks since the housing industry crisis started in December 2007.

Experts also noted that thousands of properties already have a foreclosure date set for them despite their owners' ongoing negotiation with lenders in an effort to stop foreclosure process. In such a situation, housing experts reveal that homeowners are left with no choice but to let go of their homes or file for bankruptcy protection. This option is used by some homeowners and it is quite common for some borrowers to file for bankruptcy minutes before their properties are set to go for an auction sale.

Foreclosure lawyers have revealed that in foreclosure cases, multiple notices of eviction should be served to the homeowner. However, they claim that majority of Americans vacate their homes even before the actual repossession takes place. Once a repossessed property's locks were changed, the previous owners are given 24 hours to gather their personal belongings, but lawyers reported that majority of foreclosed homeowners do not even bother.

According to housing market analysts, because negotiating for a mortgage modification does not stop foreclosure process, the number of homeowners who lost their properties to foreclosure has risen faster than they should than if borrowers are given the chance to complete the modification process.

Loan Modification Does Not Stop Foreclosure Process in Most Cases is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Realtors report that the temporary suspension imposed on the sale of foreclosed properties have left hundreds of distressed dwellings waiting for purchase agreements to be closed while they continue to deteriorate and lose value. For homeowners facing foreclosures, most of them have admitted that the freeze will only be temporary and that they will still likely lose their properties unless they find an alternative agreement.

A considerable percentage of Wichita housing industry is affected by the moratorium since almost 10% of the city's mortgages are handled by Bank of America, one of the lenders that decided to implement a sales freeze. Ally Financial, JPMorgan Chase and PNC Mortgage have also implemented a temporary suspension and all three have shares in the Wichita housing market, albeit not as much as BoA.

Although the impact of the moratorium on Wichita is not on the same level as other U.S. areas, city realtors still believe that the freeze is not doing much to provide foreclosures help to the area's housing market. According to them, instead of giving relief, the move has resulted in home selling activities being put on hold. They reported that as an example, last week's sheriff's sale in Sedgwick County resulted in only 17 houses getting sold out of 62 that are available to buyers.

Local realtors have estimated that at least 10% of foreclosed properties in the Wichita market will be affected by the moratorium. These properties, they added, will have to wait until the suspension is lifted, which means that they will remain vacant and empty while no progress is being made on their sale. Realtors are expecting the prices of these properties to decline within a few months since deterioration will be the likely result of the lack of sales activity.

Most housing market analysts in the city have stated that they do understand the need for an investigation, but they argued that actions should be taken without affecting the sale of foreclosed properties. They further added that such a move does not offer foreclosures help to those who need it.

Wichita Does Not See Moratorium As Foreclosures Help is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

The forum required no fees or other charges from attending homeowners and borrowers. According to some of the homeowners who went to the forum, they got tired of faxing documents and calling certain telephone numbers for help that seem to produce no positive result. They stated that they decided to attend the forum because it will give them a chance to come face to face with individuals who can make decisions on whether they get to keep their homes or lose them to foreclosures.

One of the homeowners who attended the event recounted his efforts of trying to have his loan modified since 2006. After meeting a financial service company representative at the mall event, Reginald Lee stated that he got his monthly mortgage obligation lowered by over $200, making him more optimistic that his house will not end up getting foreclosed.

Another borrower who attended the event designed to prevent home foreclosures has revealed that she carried tons of paperwork with her when she decided to attend the forum, hoping that the documents will help prove that she is indeed in need of help. According to the mother of three, the current condition of the economy has made it hard for her to find another job despite being able to work for the past 25 years.

Another man revealed that he decided to go to the forum after undergoing a 33% pay cut. According to Daniel Garza, he understands that banks have their own investments and they also need to get their money back. He stated that the best way banks can do this is to help borrowers and homeowners.

Organizers of the event designed to prevent home foreclosures sent around 20,000 invitation letters to homeowners in the state. Recent housing market figures showed that around 50,000 residential properties in Indiana are facing possible foreclosure in 2010.

Indiana Residents Participate in Effort to Prevent Home Foreclosures is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

It will also provide homeowners the opportunity to meet up with lenders, housing authorities, housing counselors from the HUD, real estate lawyers and credit counselors and learn all about programs that provide foreclosure assistance. In addition, loss mitigation experts from Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Sun Trust and Chase will be participants in the workshop.

Attendees of the workshop were asked to bring bank statements and paycheck records and identification cards like Social Security and driver's license. They were also requested to come to the event armed with their W2 Forms, documents on mortgage payments and employment gaps and bills on household expenses.

The workshop is just one of several efforts launched in Florida to address the issue of foreclosures. Another program that has recently come into being is a mediation effort launched by the 10th Judicial Circuit which aims to stop foreclosed homes from increasing in number. Although foreclosure figures in the state has declined by 25% compared with previous year's numbers, Florida remains in the top three states with the highest foreclosure activities.

The project, called Collins Center for Public Policy Foreclosure Mediation Program, offers borrowers and lenders the opportunity to resolve foreclosure concerns outside the courts. It also focuses on trying to keep homeowners in their homes if it is possible at all. The effort is a collaboration between Collins and the Central Florida Mediation Group and offers the mediation services free of charge to homeowners who are facing foreclosures.

Organizers of the program have stated that the mediation effort benefits both lenders and homeowners in such a way that they are given a chance to work out their case with the help of a mediator and come up with an agreement that will prevent both parties from suffering additional pressure and expenses. A reasonable solution that will take into consideration the homeowner's financial status is the primary purpose of the mediation.

The Florida Housing Help workshop and the mediation effort by Collins are part of statewide efforts to stop foreclosed homes from becoming a bigger problem. These efforts are provided for free and aim to benefit both lenders and borrowers.

Workshop on How to Stop Foreclosed Homes Problem in Florida is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

The $108 million was the amount declared by the Federal Trade Commission to be paid back by BofA to about 200,000 Countrywide borrowers who paid several thousand dollars in fees when they missed their monthly payments. The fees were collected by Countrywide for the payment of various services such as property inspections over the years from 2005 to 2008.

BofA acquired Countrywide in 2008 after it collapsed due to allegations of fraudulent lending practices and mismanagement.

Advocates said that Countrywide did not help distressed borrowers rescue their homes because they were looking at the profits they will get from the default fees. They did not provide accurate loan information to borrowers, did not provide proper notices, did not keep clear records and they made false representations against borrowers in bankruptcy.

FTC officials pointed out that Countrywide made huge amounts of money when they made risky loans and they made money again when the home loans defaulted.

For its part, BofA said it agreed to refund the money to avoid further costs related to a drawn-out litigation. Aside from the financial settlement, BofA also agreed to notify bankrupt borrowers regularly about their balances and fees.

In related news, BofA also decided to stop home foreclosures in Utah in response to a court-ordered injunction resulting from the lawsuit filed by Utah resident Peni Cox. Since January last year, Cox has stopped making her monthly home loan payments. She and her lawyer was able to stop the repossession of her house after filing a case that claimed BofA had no right to file foreclosure cases in Utah because it is not registered in Utah and it does not have an office in Utah where it can conduct face-to-face meetings with customers.

In its response, BofA argued it does not have to register with every state in the U.S. Nevertheless, it agreed to stop home foreclosures in the state to comply with the Utah court order.

BofA Agrees to Stop Home Foreclosures and to Pay $108M is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Shelby further added that the legislation for reforming the financial industry has touched almost every aspect of the economy, but failed to address the problem of the two mortgage companies which, according to him, contributed greatly to the ongoing foreclosure crisis by creating high demands for risky loans and by inflating the housing market bubble. The Alabama Senator has criticized Democrats for allegedly preventing reform plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the years.

U.S. legislators have stated that the planned changes in the rules governing the financial and banking industry are meant to prevent another economic meltdown similar to the 2008 crisis that almost brought down Wall Street.

The legislative bill aims to create a group of regulators who will oversee financial system risks and set up a strategy to liquidate businesses that are too interconnected or too big to undergo bankruptcy.

The council of regulators will also create a bureau for consumer protection to regulate lending and bring into government oversight complex securities that were previously unregulated. The proposed changes in lending rules are also meant to prevent foreclosed homes statistics from rising further.

The bill is still under debate at the Senate, while the House has already passed legislation similar to the proposed bill in December 2009. Meanwhile, the administration of President Obama has somewhat touched upon the issue of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae when it stated that it is still too early to implement wholesale reforms in the financing system of the housing market.

Shelby, along with other Republican legislators like John McCain and Judd Gregg, have called on the government to relinquish control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and take definitive actions to get out of the mortgage finance business. The recommendation, if it becomes a reality, will repeal Freddie Mac and Fannie’s mandates to promote low-priced housing.

Senator Shelby has criticized the bill designed to overhaul the financial and lending industry and prevent foreclosed homes numbers from expanding. He stated that the bill should include Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae reforms.

Legislator Called for Wide Reforms to Prevent Foreclosed Homes is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Arizona Legislation to Help Prevent Home Foreclosures is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Among the loopholes are the obvious hesitation of lenders to work out short sales because of the big gap between the loan amount and the short sale price, the difficulty in pinpointing the short sale price fair to lenders and the problem of second mortgages.

Nevertheless, the Obama administration is pushing through with the short sale program to help solve the foreclosure problem which has not been solved by earlier programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program and the HARP and the HOPE programs.

Just like the HAMP and HARP, the federal government also gives incentives to the lender or servicer, to the second-mortgage holder and to the homeowner. The primary lender gets $1,000; the second-mortgage lender gets another $1,000; and the homeowner gets $1,500 for relocation expenses.

For troubled borrowers, this short sale scheme to stop home foreclosures has two advantages over foreclosures: less damage to personal credit ratings and the pledge that they will not be pursued for the deficiency between the final sales price and the loan amount.

For mortgage security investors, the advantage over foreclosure is the prospect of receiving a higher amount of money or the likelihood of posting less investment loss.

For lenders, the benefits of short sales are savings in terms of money and time spent for foreclosure proceedings and avoidance of maintenance costs or monthly fees for properties in multifamily buildings.

There are, however, analysts who are doubtful about the effectiveness of the program. Economist Thomas Lawler, for instance, contended that short sales can be easily used to carry out fraud. Lawler, a former top executive at Fannie Mae, questioned how the lenders can determine whether a homeowner is really troubled or only pretending in order to escape financial obligations.

At the start of the housing crisis, short sales were ignored by lenders, but the number of short sales worked out has started to rise, according to realtors. The number, however, is still not significant.

Fannie Mae reported that it has approved 36,968 pre-foreclosure sales in 2009, triple the number it approved in 2008.

Despite the fine-tuning of the short sale program, the major mortgage banks are still largely hesitant about approving short sales to stop home foreclosures. Besides, there are second mortgage holders and mortgage investors that they need to confer with before approving short sales.

Stop Home Foreclosures thru Short Sales despite Loopholes is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.

Mortgage loan audits, oftentimes marketed as forensic loan audits, are supposedly examination of mortgage loan documents to identify violations of mortgage lending laws by the lenders. Unscrupulous mortgage consultants sell this idea to distressed borrowers, telling them that the lenders will more easily agree to loan modifications if they are presented with their lending law violations.

In reality, however, there has been no data or evidence to back the claim that mortgage loan audits can pressure lenders to speed up their loan modification efforts for borrowers who present possible violations of federal laws in their mortgage origination.

According to the office of California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr., the for-profit foreclosure prevention industry continues to find creative ways to swindle money from desperate borrowers.

According to legitimate consultants, even if the mortgage loan audits are performed by licensed and trained auditors, lawyers or mortgage professionals, forensic loan audits are not sure-fire or guaranteed tools to stop home foreclosures.

The Mortgage Relief Law Center in California is one of the many foreclosure-relief companies marketing forensic loan audits to homeowners at risk of foreclosure. One mortgage borrower complained that he paid $2,795 to MLRC, which accepted the money but never updated him on the mortgage modification process and never informed him that he was not qualified for modification.

The borrower claimed that he came to know of his modification status only after his lender sent him a notification stating that he was not qualified for loan modification. He also claimed that MLRC refused to refund his money.

Under the law in California, all foreclosure relief consultants and loan modification professionals are required to register with the office of Attorney General Brown and post a bond of $100,000. They are also prohibited from collecting upfront payments.

Last year, California officials have investigated over 2,000 loan modification complaints and have sued almost 350 people involved in fraudulent foreclosure relief activities.

The office of Brown has issued advisories to homeowners looking for consultants to help them stop home foreclosures. Homeowners are advised not to pay upfront fees, not to transfer titles or pay mortgage payments to consultants and not to ignore letters from mortgage servicers and lenders.

Stop Home Foreclosures, Beware of Mortgage Loan Audits is a post from StopForeclosuresHelp.com - Learn how to stop foreclosures.