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Home Foreclosures: Will Voluntary Mortgage Modification Help Families Save Their Homes? Part Ii? : Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary Subcomm. On Commercial And Administrative Law, 111th Cong., Dec. 11, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The results to date from MHAP are deeply disappointing. Even the most optimistic view of HAMP and HARP’s potential would now project the programs as having only a minor impact on the foreclosure crisis. Until and unless the problems of unemployment; negative equity, and servicer capacity, incentives, and contract restrictions are addressed, we are unlikely to see noticeably different results. These issues cannot be addressed within the current structure of HAMP.

Unfortunately, none of the solutions for foreclosures due to unemployment are particularly satisfying, and without addressing unemployment, foreclosures will remain at elevated levels. Bankruptcy presents possible solutions to negative …

Worsening Foreclosure Crisis: Is It Time To Reconsider Bankruptcy Reform?: Hearing Before The Subcomm. On Administrative Oversight And The Courts Of The S. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., July 23, 2009 (Statement Of Adam J. Levitin, Associate Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

The clear finding from my research is that mortgage prices are largely insensitive to bankruptcy modification risk. Permitting bankruptcy modification is unlikely to result in higher mortgage costs or lower mortgage credit availability.

The foreclosure crisis is not about to stop any time soon. Judicially-supervised restructuring of mortgages is the only tool we have left in the box. It's a tool we know can work. It's a tool that can save hundreds of thousands of families their homes and help stabilize communities, housing markets, and the economy. It's time to use it.

H.R. 200, The "Helping Families Save Their Homes In Bankruptcy Act Of 2009," And H.R. 225, The "Emergency Homeownership And Equity Protection Act": Hearing Before The H. Comm. On The Judiciary, 111th Cong., Jan. 22, 2009 (Statement Of Associate Professor Adam J. Levitin, Geo. U. L. Center), Adam J. Levitin

Testimony Before Congress

Permitting modification of all mortgages in bankruptcy would create a low-cost, effective, fair, and immediately available method for resolving much of the current foreclosure crisis without imposing costs on taxpayers, creating a moral hazard for borrowers or lenders, or increasing mortgage credit costs or decreasing mortgage credit availability. As the foreclosure crisis deepens, bankruptcy modification presents the best and least invasive method of stabilizing the housing market and is a crucial step in stabilizing financial markets.