RISMEDIA, August 4, 2009-As part of an ongoing effort to expand relief to struggling homeowners, Treasury released the Supplemental Directive for its Home Price Decline Protection (HPDP) program, a component of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HPDP provides additional incentive payments for modifications on properties located in areas where home prices have recently declined. The purpose of the program is to encourage additional lender participation and HAMP modifications in areas with recent price declines by helping to offset any incremental collateral loss on modifications that do not succeed. HPDP will help ensure that borrowers in areas with recent home price declines have the opportunity to stay in their homes, thereby minimizing foreclosures, which further depress home values.
“This is an important next step in our multi-faceted efforts to bring relief to struggling homeowners and stabilize the housing market,” said Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr. “Home price decline protection can help homeowners who may not have been reached otherwise.”
All HAMP loan modifications begun after September 1st, 2009 are eligible for HPDP payments.
HAMP offers incentives to investors/lenders, servicers, and homeowners for successful mortgage modifications. The “pay-for-success” structure of HAMP provides incentives to create sustainable mortgage modifications in a manner most cost effective for taxpayers.
Treasury has allocated a total of up to $10 billion for the HPDP program, but the actual amount spent will depend on the home price trends. The funds available to individual servicers to pay HPDP and all other incentives on HAMP modifications will be capped according to the Program Participation Cap included in their Servicer Participation Agreement. Treasury will establish each servicer’s initial cap by estimating the number of modifications that servicer is expected to perform during the term of HAMP.
The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) commits $75 billion dollars, including $50 billion of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, to encourage loan modifications that will provide sustainably affordable mortgage payments for borrowers.
HAMP is one component of Making Home Affordable, the Administration’s comprehensive plan to stabilize the U.S. housing market and offer assistance to millions of homeowners by reducing mortgage payments and preventing avoidable foreclosures. Making Home affordable includes: the $75 billion HAMP program, the Home Affordable Refinancing Program providing increased refinancing opportunities for borrowers with high loan-to-value ratios and a $200 billion commitment to increase confidence in the GSEs and support increased refinancing generally.
For more information, visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.
