Some doubt mortgage settlement will end navigation nightmare

Even as government officials prepare to unveil new standards this week for how banks treat millions of Americans facing foreclosure, The New York Times reports housing advocates and homeowners are skeptical the rules will be able to do something past efforts have not: provide a beleaguered borrower with one individual to help him or her navigate the mortgage maze. The entire process of seeking a mortgage modification is complicated and time-consuming, but few elements are as maddening as the inability to get through to a representative at the bank—or being asked for the same documents again and again. So the promise of a single point of contact has emerged as a crucial element in the much-ballyhooed $26 billion settlement reached earlier this month involving state attorneys general, the federal government and the five biggest mortgage servicers. These rules will apply nationwide and come with commitments of strong enforcement by federal and state authorities, but they carry a familiar ring for those experienced in the foreclosure process. Last April, the industry made many of the same pledges under a consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; since then, consumer representatives say, there has been barely any improvement, adding that loan files continue to be handed off from one agent to another, sometimes weekly, and that even when a single person is assigned to a borrower's case, one phone call after another goes unreturned. So while most homeowner advocates welcome the new settlement, many have doubts the banks will actually change their conduct. Read the full story here.

This week's poll question: Do you believe the government will succeed in providing a single point of contact for borrowers navigating a mortgage modification?