Advocates say housing aid doesn't go far enough

Minnesota Public Radio reports that homeowners are having difficulty receiving timely loan modificaitons, even under the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable program. The report, which aired on All Things Considered, quotes a University of Minnesota law professor who advocates for a more robust and systematic implementation of loan modifications for struggling homeowners:

"Here is what needs to happen," he says, "we need to stop talking about this and we need the government to come in with a clear set of mandates, clearly enforced with transparent rules. If we have that, we are going to have real loan modifications happen in a systemic way."

Cox says modifying or refinancing more loans is critical now, because keeping foreclosures from flooding the market and continuing to drive down home prices is the only way to stabilize the economy.

The full report is available here.

Two earlier Pubic Radio reports also profiled homeowners who were having difficulty obtaining loan modifications:

Homeowners Find Mortgage Program Not So Easy
All Things Considered, June 9, 2009

Homeowners Find Loan Modification Slow Going
Morning Edition, May 7, 2009

And here is a link to the initial report from Public Radio covering the launch of the Making Home Affordable program in March:

Obama Announces Home Affordability Program
Morning Edition, March 5, 2009