Mortgage Assistance May Not Be Working Well

The article is Borrowers with modified loans falling into trouble. I first saw the article in the San Antonio Express-News, 12-22-09, page 4C. It seems like the government is trying to help people who were in trouble on their mortgages but they still fall behind anyway. Here are the key exerpts:

"One of the biggest challenges to ending the foreclosure crisis is this: A surprising number of homeowners who get their monthly payments reduced fall behind again within a year.

When borrowers get into financial trouble, lenders have several ways to help. They can offer grace periods, longer repayment schedules, lower interest rates or reduced balances.

But nearly 40 percent of homeowners across the nation who had their monthly payments cut by 20 percent or more last year were delinquent again within a year, according to a report released this past week from the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision."