principal reduction

Will homeowners see a penny of the reimbursements that the government has ordered 16 mortgage lenders to pay? Not likely, foreclosure victims and housing activists say, because the independent review ordered by regulators is too weak.

Regulators want the nation's big banks to reduce what borrowers owe on underwater mortgages, but they're still focused on solutions that rely on banks to voluntarily do the right thing. But we've already seen that won't work, and history shows what will -- giving bankruptcy judges back the right to cram down mortgages.

Have the mortgage-modification floodgates opened? For the one-in-four American homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a reduction in the mortgage's principal balance can shift the borrowers' math and their mindsets in favor of staying in the game: Drop the amount of...

A partial settlement plan has been constructed by a group of state attorneys general and federal regulators. In theory, it addresses banks' flawed mortgage servicing, modification and foreclosure practices. In reality, it just lets the banks off the hook.

If you're struggling to pay your credit card bills each month, getting help from a credit card hardship program may sound like the perfect solution. But getting into one and reaping the benefits are easier for some cardholders than others, and there are myriad factors that come into play. Still,...

If you're unemployed or your home is severely underwater, help is on the way. The Administration announced additional options for struggling homeowners to get help and explained the program during a press briefing Friday. You won't be able to call your lender right away, but you can call...

After Bank of America announced its new mortgage modification program that offered principal forgiveness for certain types of loans, I wondered if it was the only bank to do so. Of the four major loan servicers on the HAMP program -- Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo Bank and...

If you have a loan directly from Bank of America or Countrywide and are 60 days or more late, you may qualify for its new "earned principal forgiveness." Also about 95% of the loans that Bank of America services for private investors in which the investor has delegated authority to the bank may...

If you have a payment option ARM, or possibly some other types of ARMs, that are underwater, you may get a letter from Bank of America starting in May to alert you about a new mortgage modification program that will include a reduction in principal. The program will only focus on a certain class of...