Modifications

In a push to simplify mortgage modifications, federal regulators announced a streamlined process that doesn't require borrowers to prove a hardship. "This new option gives delinquent borrowers another path to avoid foreclosure," Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement announcing the modifications Wednesday. The new modifications, however, would not include reducing the loan balance, a move promoted by housing advocates and others but resisted by DeMarco, who says it would end up costing taxpayers money and would encourage defaults.

Financially strapped homeowners who are close to foreclosure may want to face the music now rather than continuing to struggle with their monthly payments. There's a high probability of losing the house anyway, even with the government's help. According to a new report, people who take advantage of a key federal program to modify their mortgages in an effort to save their homes are defaulting "at an alarming rate. " The report from the special inspector general for the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program doesn't say why an inordinately high percentage of owners who take part in the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, are unable to maintain their loan modifications.

Question: I am wheelchair-bound, so I was excited to be able to rent an apartment in a rental community built in 2010. I assumed that a nearly new complex would be built to the latest design specifications and include buildings and common areas where I could live comfortably. But now that I have moved in, I am running into a number of limitations because I cannot easily maneuver my wheelchair. For example, many of the doors on the property are too narrow for my chair. A friend who works in property management told me that newly constructed housing should be accessible to wheelchair users.

Banks aren't living up to pledges they made in last year's landmark government settlement of mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses, according to an advocacy group's survey of California housing counselors and lawyers. The California Reinvestment Coalition, which lobbies for low-income Californians, said banks continue to pursue foreclosures against borrowers seeking loan modifications - a practice they had sworn off - and have been ineffective at providing well-informed employees to help troubled borrowers one-on-one.

Like a lot of homeowners, Mar Vista residents Faith and Gary Hunt found money a little tight during the recession and hoped they could work out some more accommodating terms with their lender, Chase bank. To improve their odds, they said they turned to a law firm that said it could possibly cut their mortgage payment in half. They also signed on with a "debt management" company that, according to the Hunts, said it could eliminate their credit card debt. After making thousands of dollars in payments, the Hunts said, neither business would return their calls or emails, and the couple received no assistance with their mortgage or their plastic.

British and French authorities cleared the way for the Concorde to resume commercial service next month after approving a number of modifications to the world's only civilian supersonic airliner. Just over a year after an Air France Concorde's fiery crash outside Paris, in which 113 people died, officials on both sides of the English Channel said they would allow the luxury airliners to resume flying once the changes were complete.

Question: How would I find out whether our condo building is up to code regarding wheelchair accessibility? I talked to our homeowners association board and they told me it would cost too much money to add wheelchair ramps, so forget it. I have made phone calls to code enforcement, and each leads to a dead end. Presently there are several units that would benefit from ramps. Where do I start? Answer: To learn whether your common interest development and the condo building are up to code, you should be able to acquire a set of the building plans and approvals from your city or county's building department.

WASHINGTON -- The nation's largest banks have provided nearly 140,000 homeowners with a total of $10.6 billion in relief under a $25-billion national settlement reached in February, the monitor for the agreement said Wednesday. The largest category of relief was in short sales, in which the banks forgave about $8.7 billion in first- or second-mortgage debt to allow the borrower to sell a home for less than what is owed. The report showed that Bank of America Corp. faltered in one key area of the settlement, completing no modifications of first mortgages from March 1 to June 30, the period covered in the first status report released by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.

The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $375,000 contract to a Utah construction company for modifications to the spillway gates at Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona, bureau spokesman Barry Wirth said. The contract with G.V. Contracting, Midvale, Utah, calls for removal of the flashboards on four of the huge spillway gates at the dam and installation of reinforcements on the gate arms, Wirth said.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the Calabasas mortgage lender bought last year by Bank of America Corp., agreed to settle a probe of its home-lending practices in Maryland. Maryland Atty. Gen. Douglas F. Gansler said Countrywide would offer loan modifications and relocation assistance to some borrowers who are unable to retain their homes, and pay more than $2.1 million into a foreclosure-relief program.

In a push to simplify mortgage modifications, federal regulators announced a streamlined process that doesn't require borrowers to prove a hardship. "This new option gives delinquent borrowers another path to avoid foreclosure," Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement announcing the modifications Wednesday. The new modifications, however, would not include reducing the loan balance, a move promoted by housing advocates and others but resisted by DeMarco, who says it would end up costing taxpayers money and would encourage defaults.

Bank of America Corp., which handles customer service on about 15% of U.S. home loans, has accounted for 30% of the mortgage complaints logged by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a new database made public by the federal watchdog. The level of customer discontent - far greater than at home-lending rivals Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. - reflects BofA's struggles since its 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. in Calabasas. Countrywide had become the No. 1 mortgage firm by specializing in subprime and other high-risk loans.

In a push to simplify loan modifications, many borrowers who become 90 days or more past due on mortgages backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will be offered lowered payments without having to prove hardship, the federal regulator of the home-finance giants said. The streamlined modification program, to be put into effect in July, would reduce monthly payments by about 30% on average, officials said in announcing the program Wednesday.  Eligible borrowers would receive letters explaining the modification offer and specifying the reduced payment.

CHICAGO -- What will the Kings look like after this five-game trip starting in the Midwest, winding through Dallas and finishing in Arizona? That, and one small drop-by, in the midst of it, to the most famous house in the country. This would be Tuesday's visit to the White House where the Stanley Cup champion Kings and the MLS champion Galaxy will meet President Obama . Returning to the previous question, the Kings could be a slightly different-looking team by the time they return to Los Angeles.

When is a fish not a fish but a drug? When government regulators take old laws and twist themselves into knots trying to apply them to new technology. In the emotionally charged battle over the safety and appropriateness of genetically modified foods, people on both sides agree that the way the government oversees genetically modified plants and animals is patchy, inconsistent and at times just plain bizarre. Soon, analysts say, the system may be stretched to the breaking point.

Magnus Walker steps between the scarred carcasses of Porsche 911s lining his garage wall. He pauses and points to a gaping hole where the car's front hood should be. "Cars in here have to die," he says, "so others can live. " With a chest-length beard and finger-thick dreadlocks, the 45-year-old English immigrant doesn't look like a prototypical buttoned-down Porsche collector. But for more than a decade, Walker has worked in downtown L.A.'s arts district, transforming scrap heaps into one-off custom 911s, earning him the nickname "Urban Outlaw.

USAir Group's $400 million acquisition of Pacific Southwest Airlines cleared its final hurdle late Sunday night when 3,800 Teamsters-represented employees ratified contract modifications that USAir had demanded as part of its bid for the San Diego-based airline. The vote to accept the modified contract was concluded just minutes before a midnight deadline on Sunday, after which USAir had threatened to walk away from the deal.

Pete Wilkins is flying to Australia this weekend, but he's not taking Qantas. The Irvine resident is hoping to spend most of today and Sunday--about 40 hours in all--in his six-passenger, single-engine Piper Malibu flying over the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Sydney, a distance of 7,584 miles. When he returns next week, he will be attempting to break the world long-distance solo flight record, set in 1955, of 7,488 miles.

Re "The junk science behind Prop. 37," Column, Oct. 14 Junk science isn't behind the push to pass Proposition 37, which would require labels for most genetically modified food. Nevertheless, its proponents correctly point out that the disastrous effects of such substances as DDT and Agent Orange only became apparent years after they were initially cleared for use with scientific backing. Similarly, the effects of genetically modified food probably won't be fully understood for some time.

The NFL reissued suspensions Tuesday to four players accused of involvement in the New Orleans Saints' alleged bounty program. Three of the four punishments were modified. Linebacker Scott Fujita, who now plays for Cleveland, saw his suspension reduced from three games to one. The suspension of defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove was reduced from eight games to seven, with credit for five games served even though he's a free agent without a team. There is no change to the suspension of Saints defensive lineman Will Smith, who is still banned for four games.