Through the federal Making Homes Affordable program, about 8,400 Floridians have received permanent loan modifications, 12% of the total permanent modifications awarded nationwide was for Miami real estate properties.
On Friday, the Treasury Department released its progress report on the $75 billion program, which was announced by the Obama administration nearly a year ago.
In Florida through December, the statistics show 8,405 permanent modifications and 96,703 trial modifications on Miami homes, Miami real estate and other Florida properties.
There have been 66,465 permanent modifications made nationwide. That's about 2% of all loans that are 60 or more days delinquent on Miami real estate and other Florida properties.
There are three basic ways the Making Homes Affordable program gives incentives to banks to modify loans on Miami homes: reducing interest rates to as low as 2%, increasing the life of the loan, and reducing the principal owed on the loan.
When just 31,382 permanent modifications had been awarded through November, participating lenders were pressured in the fall to increase the number.
Bank of America reported modifying just 98 through November, which has 1.04 million loans that are 60 or more days delinquent. That had increased to 3,183 through the end of last month.
Including reasons for why modifications were needed, today's report includes more data than past reports.
Because of a reduction in income, nearly 52% of homeowners said they required a loan modification to stay in their home. About 11% claimed ``excessive obligation,'' while 5.6 % claimed unemployment.
While 43 % included an extension on the life of the loan, the report shows that all of the permanent modifications included an interest-rate reduction.
Just 26% included forgiveness of part of the principal or a reworking of the loan that reduces current payments, but adds the principal back on at the end of the loan.
Contributed by MLR Realty
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