Top News, Week of Dec 7th, 2009

The Nation's Housing. In trouble and thinking about a short sale? Help is on the way.
By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, December 12, 2009
If you're in trouble on your mortgage and can't get a loan modification, check out the Obama administration's new standardized short-sale plan that's scheduled to roll out during the next several months. The program, outlined Dec. 1 by the Treasury Department, is an attempt to streamline what has traditionally been a contentious, time-consuming process by requiring lenders and others to use nationally uniform documents, timelines and financial incentives...

Short sale plan should standardize, quicken the process
By Kenneth R. Harney, Special to the Times
In Print: Saturday, December 12, 2009
Short sale plan should help standardize, quicken process. WASHINGTON — If you're in trouble on your mortgage and can't get a loan modification, check out the Obama administration's standardized short sale plan that's scheduled to roll out during the coming months. The program, outlined Dec. 1 by the Treasury Department, is an attempt to streamline what has been a contentious, time-consuming process by requiring lenders and others to use nationally uniform documents, time lines and financial incentives.

Standardized short-sale plan may relieve big headache
By Kenneth R. Harney Syndicated columnist, The Seattle Times
WASHINGTON — If you're in trouble on your mortgage and can't get a loan modification, check out the Obama administration's new standardized short-sale plan scheduled to roll out during the coming months. The program, outlined Dec. 1 by the Treasury Department, is an attempt to streamline what has been a contentious, time-consuming process by requiring lenders and others to use nationally uniform documents, timelines and financial incentives.

Ginnie Mae enables the firms to issue more taxpayer-backed loans
By Brian Grow and Zachary A. Goldfarb Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The trouble signs surrounding Lend America had been building for years. A top executive was convicted of mortgage fraud but still helped run the company. Home loans made by its headquarters were defaulting at an extremely high rate. Federal prosecutors alleged in a civil suit that the company falsified loan documents and committed fraud.

JUST 4 PERCENT IN FINAL STAGE
Thousands now risk losing mortgage help
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 11, 2009
The government's foreclosure relief program is sputtering, according to government data released Thursday showing that the pace of help being offered to struggling homeowners slowed last month and many borrowers are at risk of losing the aid they have already received.

Lawmakers growing frustrated with mortgage-relief failures
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 Most of the struggling homeowners who have enrolled in the Obama administration's marquee mortgage-relief program still haven't proved they qualify for help, illustrating lingering weakness in the effort to aid distressed borrowers. About 70 percent of the borrowers who have signed up for the program, called Making Home Affordable, have yet to provide adequate documentation, and many homeowners continue to struggle even after their mortgage payments are lowered, industry and government officials told the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.