NEW ERA

In its Jan. 31 editorial "How to keep a happy home", the difficulty in seeking an accommodation from a mortgage service organization is described and persons at risk of losing their houses through foreclosure are encouraged to contact Tabor Community Services. "Tabor helps distressed homeowners navigate the myriad of state and federal programs that are designed to help them avoid foreclosure."

WATCHDOG: Good advice. However, a large portion of home mortgages have been "securitized", that is they have been packaged as part of bonds and sold to passive investors, and thus are beyond the discretion of the loan originator. To make things worse, the very mortgages have often been divided up according to levels of risk and the parts bundled in separate offerings. (For a $100,000 mortgage, the amount between $90,000 and $100,000 is at greatest risk.)

In such cases, the service organizations are only empowered to collect the money, not to negotiate any variation in terms. Thus they seem unresponsive.

As part of efforts to stem foreclosures, one of the considerations is for the federal government to authorize service organizations to negotiate and approve modifications in terms and settlements. Bond holders and debtors both benefit from a "work out" or "cram down."