How HAMP Hurt Homeowners
At FireDogLake, David Dayen has done great work to show how the Home Affordable Modification Program -- the Obama’s signature effort to keep financially
Jul 31, 202030.5K Shares1.1M Views
At FireDogLake, David Dayen has done great workto show how the Home Affordable Modification Program — the Obama’s signature effort to keep financially distressed homeowners in their homes — has not just failed, but has actually hurt the people it is meant to help.
HAMP encourages homeowners to work with their banks to modify their mortgages, reducing their monthly payments if increasing their principal slightly. The problems with the program are many. HAMP does nothing to reduce the size of the mortgage in accordance with falling home prices. The process often takes months and months, and requires extraordinary amounts of tedious paperwork. It kicks out too many trial participants. And worst, perhaps, too often, HAMP does not significantly reduce monthly payments — meaning that a homeowner going through the HAMP process keeps paying a mortgage they can’t afford for a few months before defaulting anyway.
Dayen and Atrios, as well as ProPublica, the Huffington Postand a few other news organizations, have done an excellent job of describing the program for the catastrophe it is — particularly given that continued falling home prices and the long foreclosure crisis threaten pitching the economy into a double-dip. But there remains a lack of scrutiny about the program and the administration seems content to stay the course, slowing the crisis without solving it.
Dexter Cooke
Reviewer
Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
He holds a Journalism degree from Columbia University, an Economics background from Yale University, and a medical degree with a postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Dexter’s insights into media, economics, and marketing shine through his prolific contributions to respected publications and advisory roles for influential organizations.
As an orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive knee replacement surgery and laparoscopic procedures, Dexter prioritizes patient care above all.
Outside his professional pursuits, Dexter enjoys collecting vintage watches, studying ancient civilizations, learning about astronomy, and participating in charity runs.
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