“A $7.6 billion federal program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure had spent just 3% of its money almost two years after the program was announced, a government report shows.
As of Dec. 31, the “Hardest Hit” program had helped 30,640 homeowners — or 7% of the almost 475,000 homeowners it was intended to assist — says the report released today from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The program, available in 18 states and the District of Columbia, suffered a “significant delay” given lack of planning by the U.S. Treasury Department and slow uptake by mortgage loan servicers and mortgage giantsFreddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the report says.
Unless changes are made, not all of the funds may be spent by the program’s end in December 2017, warns Christy Romero, deputy special inspector general.
She also says its in danger of having a “limited” impact on the foreclosure crisis, which is a criticism that’s been lobbed at other Obama administration programs.
Treasury officials say the report “misses the mark.” The program, geared toward helping the unemployed or underemployed in states hard hit by recession or home price declines, has “kept tens of thousands of families in their homes,” Treasury official Tim Massad says….”
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