A federal plan aimed at helping 3 to 4 million homeowners on the verge of foreclosure has fallen far short of expectations, enabling only about 31,000 loan modifications.
"[A]s 2010 begins, it is already clear that Making Home Affordable has fallen far short of its goals, with only 31,382 permanent loan modifications completed by Nov. 30. Last year, lenders were doing far more loan modifications on their own, before the Obama plan was launched. And although foreclosures show no signs of slowing down - the total number of foreclosures is predicted to reach 13 million during the next five years - no one is expecting a dramatic turnaround in helping people keep their homes. The only way the administration will get significant numbers of loan modifications done will be to bring back failed bankruptcy cramdown legislation, or to put billions of dollars into a mass effort to rework loans - neither of which seems politically feasible."
Industry experts attribute the small number of modified loans to procedural and bureaucratic issues, with loan servicers and the federal government pointing fingers at each other over delays.
FULL STORY: Servicers, White House Point Fingers as Foreclosure Plan Fails
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
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LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
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Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
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Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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