About a year ago, the Obama administration launched two new prongs of its foreclosure-prevention effort, trying to crack two of the toughest problems that have emerged from the foreclosure crisis.

Neither has had much of an impact, according to data released Friday by the Treasury Department.

One piece was designed to help modify second mortgages such as home equity loans. The other was supposed to assist homeowners with the notoriously difficult process of completing so called “short sales” – ones in which banks agree to let homeowners avoid foreclosure by selling their homes for less than the total mortgage amount.

Treasury said only about 17,000 homeowners have received modifications of second mortgages through the program even though 17 mortgage companies have signed up. That compares with 557,000 borrowers that have received permanent modifications of first mortgages through February through the Obama administration’s flagship Home Affordable Modification Program. Treasury didn’t say how many of those borrowers have second mortgages.

Article from Wall Street Journal at  blogs.wsj.com

 

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