The nation’s largest mortgage servicers have distributed $26.1 billion in direct relief to nearly 310,000 homeowners, or roughly $84,385 per homeowner as part of the National Mortgage Settlement, according to a progress report released yesterday. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, HUD and 49 state attorneys general reached a landmark agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses.
According to the report, 106 Vermont households received financial relief totalling $4.9 million so far through this settlement. The most common types of relief provided to Vermonters are 2nd lien extinguishments and short sales/deficiency forgiveness.
According to HUD, the report demonstrates significant progress on the broadest and most robust principal reduction program in the nation’s history. Much of the relief has come in the form of debt forgiveness. Because of the settlement, banks have provided over $10.5 billion in principal reduction that helps borrowers stay in their homes, lowering monthly payments on over loans and reducing homeowners’ loan balances by more than $88,000 on average.
"With servicers on track to fulfill much of their consumer relief commitments in the first year of this agreement, homeowners are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said HUD Secretary Donovan. “That’s encouraging news – for families, for neighborhoods, for our housing market and for the country.”
Read the full report, the Monitor’s state-by-state data map, and HUD's press release.