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Lenders routinely approved short-term "trial" loan modifications that reduced payments for desperate borrowers under the umbrella of the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program. But lenders continued to count the mortgages as delinquent or in default.
Now instead of granting permanent modifications, lenders often are reinstating the original loan terms and demanding big back payments.
Through November nationwide, lenders canceled 729,109 trial modifications. No one knows how many Minnesotans have been affected, but housing counselors say it could reach into the thousands. Carl Christensen, a Minneapolis real estate attorney, said he is getting 15 telephone calls a week from shocked borrowers.
"We're seeing a lot of really sad stories of families who thought they were getting help only to discover they're $20,000 or $30,000 behind and about to lose their house," said Thomas Bloomquist, housing supervisor for LSS Financial Counseling Services in Duluth.