There was an interesting article from the Dow Jones news service recently reporting that Barney Frank and friends in the Congress are asking top lenders to give the new HOPE loan / FHA short refi program a few months to get up and going before they foreclose on people. Here is an excerpt:
Top Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to several mortgage lenders Tuesday urging them to withhold issuing more foreclosures until a key mortgage rescue provision of the housing bill is phased in.
“We are calling upon servicers to forbear foreclosures for potentially eligible homeowners over the next few months,” the Aug. 5 letter said. The lawmakers added mortgage companies should “review their loan documents and prepare to refinance eligible borrowers by October 1” under a Federal Housing Administration refinancing program that was included in the housing bill.
The letter was signed by the panel’s chairman, Barney Frank, D-Mass., and three other committee Democrats. The letter acknowledges the mortgage industry has said it is willing to help borrowers facing foreclosure, but asks lenders to explain their mortgage review policies to the committee by Aug. 31.
There is no telling if lenders will heed the request yet.