Servicer Workout Tally Reaches 2.3 Million.(Managing REO)

Byline: Ted Cornwell

Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage servicers, counselors and investors, said member companies have prevented 2.3 million foreclosures during the past 14 months through a mix of repayment plans, forbearance and loan modifications.

And the organization's executive director says that in recent months the data have shown the share of loan modifications growing in importance as a workout tool, especially among subprime borrowers.

In August alone, the alliance said that member servicers completed 189,000 mortgage workouts, which include both repayment plans and modifications, which change the original terms of the loan.

The August total included 110,000 repayment plans and 79,000 loan modifications, Hope Now said.

Faith Schwartz, executive director of the Hope Now alliance, told that the latest performance data illustrate that mortgage servicers are continuing to work hard on helping troubled homeowners.

She particularly cited data related to subprime loans as evidence that servicers are reaching out to more and more borrowers with options that provide more relief than traditional, short-term repayment plans.