O'Malley to servicers: Pick up the phone
Laura Smitherman reports today that Gov. Martin O'Malley "called on more than two dozen loan servicers to meet with him in Annapolis next week" because he said he's hearing from homeowners and advocates that people trying to avert foreclosure are getting busy signals and long waits on hold when they call the companies.
It's the latest salvo in a tug-of-war over foreclosure prevention. Mortgage servicers say they're doing all they can, have helped many borrowers and could help more if their overtures weren't often ignored. Housing counselors say it's hard to get past the collections department to the people who can actually assist, and they argue that the help -- when offered -- isn't always very helpful.
Comments
One of the conflicts here is that the servicers do not have enough staff to manage the calls coming in plus the owners of the loans, i.e. wall street trusts, do not understand it's in their interest as well as their investor's interest to modify the exploding terms. Many homeowners can make a reasonable, profitable payment. However, the gross profit expected by wall street without any analysis into the borrower's ability to repay will never materialize. Seems to me wall street should take what they can instead of expecting a bailout by the feds.
Posted by: Phillip Robinson | February 20, 2008 1:05 PM