US Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
In the wake of a meeting between mortgage servicers and representatives of the US Treasury Department last week, US Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chair of the Financial Services Committee, threatened to revisit the “cram down” legislation that had failed in the Senate last year. The legislation, which passed the House last year and is supported by the President, would allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgage contracts when homeowners file for bankruptcy. While it remains to be seen what effect this would have on both the mortgage companies, and the borrowers, some believe that borrowers would be granted a great deal of relief from bankruptcy judges if the cramdown legislation were passed.
The problem is that there is no reason that a borrower should have to declare bankruptcy to get their mortgages modified or refinanced. And as more and more homeowners fall behind on mortgages, find themselves with motgages that are greater than the value of their homes, or both, the number of homeowners either unable or unwilling to make their mortgage payments will only increase. We talked yesterday about the problem of upside down homeowners encompassing about 32% of homeowners. The category of homeowners potentially in need of a refinance or modification is even larger.
And so while there are times when it might be useful for bankruptcy judges to be able to rewrite mortgage contracts, hopefully the government and the mortgage industry can work together to make mortgage modifications a more workable reality before the “cram down” legislation becomes necessary.