Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Homeowners in need of a mortgage modification don’t need to wait until July 1.

A new tool aims to streamline the modification process for struggling homeowners.

Why were you turned down for a HAMP modification? That’s the question that the U.S. Treasury aims to answer with an online calculator that was posted yesterday. It also can help answer the question: Will I be approved for a HAMP mod? The calculator can be found at the dreadful URL CheckMyNPV.com. For search engine

“Failure” may be too harsh a word to describe the shortcomings of the U.S. Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program, but HAMP hasn’t exactly been an unqualified success either, judging by the Executive Summary of a 192-page report issued Dec. 14 by a Congressional oversight panel. Here are three snippets, quoting directly from the report: •