A record 14 percent of all homeowners with mortgages are behind on their payments. The $75 billion program to help homeowners has drawn some takers but the problem is 40 percent of them become delinquent again within a year.
That's a sorry record for a program designed to temporarily help borrowers. Participating lenders have offered help to more than 750,000 borrowers. Since March, about 31,000 of those who signed up for assistance have made at least three on-time payments. Their arrangements -- sometimes as much as 20 percent lower payments -- are then made permanent.
But about 35 percent of the borrowers who signed up were delinquent within three months. It's indicative of an economy that is still shedding jobs or modifying the ones that are left.
The program allows lenders to offer grace periods on payments, longer repayment schedules, lower interest rates or reduced balances.
The Associated Press reports there are some encouraging signs. Loans modified from April to June of this year had a better payback record than those modified during the same three months a year earlier.
Opinion
Even with mortgage help, many default on payments
- Opinion
-
-
Outhouse enthusiast’s hobby more than a relief
Editor’s note: This previously-published column has been a reader favorite and is one of the most requested columns....
-
Homosexuals must convince themselves, God
Editor, The Transcript: I am not one of those in favor of same-sex anything. According to the Bible, homesexuality is a sin. Now maybe there is a new Bible out there — the homosexual Bible. I will check at Barnes & Noble....
-
Occupy movement built on principle
Editor, The Transcript: We the People Stand Tall! Bruce Kessler ends his letter to the editor “We the people must stand up — 8 May, 2012,” with a strong message: We the people — the very words that begin our Constitution — must work ...
-
Parents proud of two schools’ rankings
Editor, The Transcript: Norman parents are justifiably proud that U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Norman High School as No. 6 in our state and No. 862 in the nation and Norman North as No. 9 in the state and 1,096 in the nation ...
-
Reducing state rates would be of minor help
Editor, The Transcript: A Transcript editorial (May 22), in discussing the proposed reduction in income tax rates in HB 3061, states that the “trigger” mechanism is a good thing, citing the rate cut from 5.5 to 5.25 because of the 4 ...
-
Sykes trying to secure seat
Editor, The Transcript: By the time this reaches you, the issues surrounding HB 2440 may have been laid to rest. Based on your article of this date, let me make these observations....
-
Fallin proposes a flawed tax-cut plan
There was some relief in the tax-cut proposal negotiated with Gov. Mary Fallin and Republican legislative leaders, but it still calls for some difficult reductions to some necessary services....
-
Corporate deception rules
Editor, The Transcript: Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase’s chief executive, said he does not know how the bank lost $3 billion (originally estimated at $2 billion) in a trading scheme. He called the trades “sloppy” and “stupid” but could not ...
-
What features create a cultural center?
The question has been raised whether an aquatic center somehow constitutes a cultural center. Although the more thorough response would be to ask, in turn, what features create a cultural center, this short treatise will simply focus on ...
-
Keep the capitol gun-free
Attorneys working for the state AG’s office are now able to carry handguns in their duties representing state agencies. They won’t need a concealed weapon permit. It’s the same as laws allowing U.S. attorneys, district attorneys and their ...
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Outhouse enthusiast’s hobby more than a relief
