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FHFA ANNOUNCES HARP EDUCATION EFFORT The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced a new program Monday that will seek to educate homeowners on potential refinancing options under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The program aims to inform underwater homeowners of expanded HARP eligibility requirements and encourage homeowners to discuss refinancing options with their lenders. "To date, more than 2.8 million homeowners have refinanced through HARP," said FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco. "With the launch of this campaign we look forward to reaching those homeowners who may not know about the program or understand the eligibility criteria to take advantage of today's low interest rates by refinancing through HARP." In order to publicize the program, FHFA has recruited HGTV personality Mike Aubrey to help promote HARP. "Harp is an absolute no brainer for eligible homeowners. The program allows underwater homeowners the option to refinance at a lower rate and in my book that's a great deal," Aubrey said. "I spend my time on TV and as a Realtor trying to get great deals for my clients. FHFA has already done the legwork to create an amazing deal. It's as simple as finding out if you qualify, getting the refinancing done, and watching the savings add up." In order to be eligible under HARP the homeowner must meet the following criteria: The loan must be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009, the current loan-to-value ratio must be greater than 80 percent, and the borrower must be current on their mortgage payments with no late payments in the last six months and no more than one late payment in the last 12 months. REPORT INDICATES IMPROVING MORTGAGE PERFORMANCE IN Q2 Delinquency and foreclosure rates continued to fall in the second quarter of 2013 according to the Mortgage Metrics Report issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The Mortgage Metrics Report examined first-lien mortgages held by the top seven lenders in the United States, 52 percent of all residential mortgages. "Strengthening economic conditions, servicing transfers, home retention efforts, and home forfeiture actions contributed to improving performance of home mortgages in the second quarter of 2013," the report said. "At the end of the second quarter of 2013, 90.6 percent of mortgages serviced by the reporting servicers were current and performing, compared with 90.2 percent at the end of the previous quarter and 88.7 percent a year earlier. The percentage of mortgages that were 30 to 59 days past due was 2.9 percent, up 11.6 percent from the previous quarter and up 1.8 percent from a year ago. The percentage of mortgages in this report that were seriously delinquent – 60 or more days past due or held by bankrupt borrowers whose payments were 30 or more days past due – decreased to 3.8 percent compared with 4.0 percent at the end of the previous quarter and 4.4 percent a year ago." Foreclosure activity in the second quarter fell to its lowest level since the report's inception in 2008. The number of loans in 42 foreclosure decreased 39.8 percent from a year ago to 744,369. The number of newly initiated foreclosures also fell to 150,592, the lowest level since early 2008 and a 50.8 percent decrease from a year ago. The percentage of mortgages that were seriously delinquent in the second quarter fell 15.0 percent from a year ago, to 3.8 percent of the total. Serivicers implemented 314,672 home retention actions – including modifications, trial-period plans, and shorter-term payment plans – in the second quarter, compared to 121,746 home forfeiture actions – including completed foreclosures, short sales, and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure actions. Mortgages serviced for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made up 57.1 of the mortgages in the Mortgage Metrics Report. The percentage of those mortgages that were current and performing was 95.1 percent, a 0.5 percent increase from last quarter and a 1.6 percent increase from last year. STAT INSIGHT Adult consumers who believe the United States is currently in recession. Source: Rasmussen Reports Start your day with a professional pick-me-up. Start your day with the most current and critical news on the mortgage default servicing industry from DSNews.com. Sign up for our e-mail newsletter and get the top stories delivered direct to your inbox every day. Register to receive your Daily Dose at DSNews.com