30 days afterwards to get the homeowner time to appeal. servicers may not proceed to foreclosure sale must they've tried these alternatives. servicers must first issue a written certification to their foreclosure attorney or trustee, stating that quote, all available loss mitigation alternatives have been exhausted in a non-foreclosure auction could not be reached, end quote. on october 6, treasury clearly remind the services of the existing hamp role. we've instructed our compliance team to review the tao marjah services, processes and procedures for complying with that guideline. if we finance event of noncompliance, treasury will direct the servicers to take corrective action, which may include suspending foreclosure proceedings and reevaluating the affected homeowners for hamp. in terms of compliance, it is important to remember that although treasury administers the making home affordable program in hamp, it does so through voluntary contract with the service servers is regulatory or enforcement agency authority. that come our complia

it helps a lot of homeowners who are struggling with multiple mortgages. servicers are supposed to implement this program by january of this year. given the stories we have heard from homeowners and consumer advocates about servicesrs' reluctance to engage in second law modifications, i am concerned about the implementation of how this program is going. what roles are in place for actually that servicedrsrs participate and have your agency planned to oversee this parade -- program to make sure they are in compliance? >> the second lien program is part of the hamp program so that is administered by treasury. to the general point, this goes back to some comments that were made a few minutes ago in response to the question by senator corker. the existence of second liens has been very problematic for us in overseeing the enterprises with respect to first liens. it is quite turning things upside down to find situations, which is common, where borrowers are continuing to pay and a second mortgage but not paying on their first mortgage. the property rights are r

the last best chance for homeowner -- fedele support gives you the last best chance for a homeowner who is in foreclosure. we have proposed, if you were to do a federal matching funds legislation, about $800 million, you should be able to fund 50% of a program in every metropolitan city in the country. i do not think that is getting done in the next six months. but that is the level of funding we are talking about. the $800 billion and the scope of the discussions we have been .aving >> for a long list of potential solutions, i would refer you to testimony i have given recently to the congressional oversight panel and the financial -- and the house financial-services committee. here's what i will say about any solution. we know what we need, which is -- in order to get this right, any program that we put out needs to be mandatory, needs to be industry-wide, and needs to give the homeowners some level of control or have a third party involved so that the decisions are not entirely being made by the service or without the homeowner having in your right to appeal or any ability to brin

creates a mortgage with the homeowner. it takes a note and other associated documents and passes it to a sponsor. sponsors are often a investment banks like bear stearns. the sponsor takes the document and moves it to a depositor. this has to do with something called bankruptcy -- we do not want to have exposure to bear stearns or investment banks. the depositors take the notes and mortgages and turn them into mortgage-backed securities. here is what has been happening here right now, trying to get our arms around her much of the crisis -- this comes from the case that just about a month ago. countrywide, as far as people who understand who worked at countrywide, were not passing these notes through. why is that important? it is important for a couple of reasons -- three reasons. one is that they assigned things like service agreements. one is that the actual infrastructure requires that the notes to be there as part of the due diligence. it requires the notes to be there as protection from limits, protection from these be

that's a gap in the bank's interest and homeowners' interest. in that gap means that you go to foreclosure, then all that negative stuff on our economy you described earlier happens. now, in order to close that gap, you've got to take a hit to principle, right, and the bank takes a hit if they don't like, is that -- it seems like we're basically saying when that gap opens up, we basically let the bank make the call. am i right about that? why does that make sense? why shouldn't we be asking the banks to take something of a hit so we get more of across our whole real estate market better outcomes? >> it's a very good question, and you're right that part of the difference between the number of people we've reached through permanent modifications and those we haven't is because it's a relatively small amount of people where the npv return is negative. let's think about what you're suggesting. i think to decide that we're going to take the taxpayer's money so that people can afford to stay in a home that is really beyond their capacity to afford bec

starting with this, finally relief for struggling homeowners. wells fargo agreed to provide loan modification was more than 2ss million. the loans originate bid world savings in wachovia banks wells fargo later acquired. nearly 15,000 california homeowners with pick a pay loans will get modifications. you may remember they allowed homeowners to decide how much to pay that. option helped drive many homeowners to the brink of foreclosure, some lost their homes and will be compensated. with just days until christmas, retailers rolling out red carpet from sun up to sundown. jc penny holiday hours 6:00 a.m. to midnight. toys are us locations will be open 88 straight hours leading up to saturday. >> this is going to be one of the highest volume retail periods in the history of man kind. every day from now until christmas will be massive. >> it looks like we're spending more this holiday season than predicted. national retail federation had been predicting a 2.4% increase. now looks like it could be three and a half percent. with all rains and winds yo

less than half of homeowners qualify. moreover, once accepted -- >> there are mortgages that are paid every two weeks -- in fact, what woof done is to tie it to people's pay checks. we require automatic deposit of the pay check and automatic withdrawal of the mortgage. >> reporter: these are pretty stringent terms. >> yes, but we've put onto it something we call a shared-appreciation mortgage. what that means in simple terms should the market come back, someone who is financed with us and paying roughly half of what they would have paid in the past will only be entitled to roughly half of what the appreciation is. >> reporter: since the program began at the beginning of the year, b.c.c. has financed 90 properties. not a one has defaulted. pamela ging's is tip campt >> the value of the property has gone down, so i was like owing 50% more than the property was worth, and when i found out that they could buy it back at the true cost, i was just thrilled. >> reporter: what was your old payment per month and what's newt one? >

evaluate whether homeowners go for short sale and written explanation for any homeowner not eligible and to delani for closure sale for any day to give the homeowner time to appeal. servicers may not proceed unless they tried the alternatives. servicers must issue a written certification to their attorney or trustee stating all available lost mitigations have been exhausted and a nonfor closure option could not be reached. treasury clearly reminded them of this rule. we've instructed our compliance team to pursue the ten top procedure. if we find noncompliance we'll take corrective action which may include re-evaluateing the effective homeowners for hamp. it's important to remember that treasury administers it does so through voluntary contract verses regulatory or placement authority. thus our compliance efforts are focused on insuring they're providing the servicer participation agreements. we're looking to ensure volunteers are being properly evaluated for hamp. reevaluating loans for el gilt. resoliciting borrowers and enhancing servicer processes and additional trainer to servic

. >>> the persistent rain and certainly the wind is causing problems for some homeowners, but it means some big business for bay area roofing companies. we can figure out why. traci grant is live in san francisco tonight. >> reporter: tom, if you climbed on the roofs of almost any of these houses, the odds are good that you would find ponding. now, ponding is play a role in causing leaky roofs and is often the reason why you'll have to wait a while to get them fixed. >> my husband realized it was a little puddle on the floor, so he said, you should call somebody. look at this. >>. >> reporter: this is one of many stops bill powers is making today to provide roof repair estimates. the volume of calls has increased because of the stormy weather. calls from homeowners finding water in places it shouldn't be. >> a customer has a leak that developed last night and haven't had the leak previously this winter, so it's something that occurred probably due to the high winds of the storm last night. >> reporter: morgan layne says the phone won't stop ringing, but that's one thing that's hard to

. >>> meanwhile, another tax issue could hurt homeowners. the popular mortgage interest tax deduction is being eyed as a potential solution to offsetting the federal budget deficit. but some 75 million americans might disagree. >> reporter: a challenge to cut the amount of u.s. treasury loses by subsidizing homeownership. one way to do that. reduce the mortgage interest tax deduction and replace it with a tax credit. ray garcia and his wife are aware cutting the deduction could hurt their bottom line. >> we would definitely be bummed because it is a good chunk of money. >> reporter: their monthly mortgage payment is $3500. with more than half going to interest. now they are eligible for a $22,000 deduction and in their current tax bracket that yields more than $6000. >> it was always assumed in the back of my mind. >> reporter: but they are proposing to change the mortgage interest deduction that saves homeowners $80 billion a year in taxes. >> reporter: the commission would replace the deduction with a 12% mortgage interest credit for all h

it's maintenance items. >> roofers say homeowners should immediately call for help if they see a leak. even in a storm, you can put tarps up to keep water from getting inside until more permanent repairs can be made. >>> heavy rain has been pounding southern california and parts of the central valley, flooding in the valley has forced the evacuation of 2,000 people in the bakersfield area where 4 inches of rain has fallen shattering a record set back in 1931. along the coast, part of the pacific coast highway between malibu and oxnar remains closed tonight, and the l.a. area is struggling to scope with record rainfall. the stormy weather continues to blanket the sierra with new snow. the gusty conditions are increase the dangers of avalanches, especially on steeper slopes. highway 88 is closed near kirkwood, and highway 89 is closed in el dorado county. chains are required on many roads. for the latest storm watch details, log on to our website, ktvu.com. you will find live radar maps showing where rain is falling around the bay area. and you will find a list of locations where you ca

sale to give the homeowner time to appeal.rs may not proceed to foreclosure sale until they have tried these alternatives. they must issue a written certification to their foreclosure chert -- their flair -- there foreclosure attorney or trustee. on october 6, treasury clearly reminded services of the existing rules. we have instructed our compliance team to review the processes and procedures for complying with our guidelines. if we find noncompliance, we would direct the servicers to take corrective action which may include suspending the foreclosure proceedings. in terms of compliance, it is important to remember that although treasury administers the making a home affordable program, it does set through a voluntary contract. our compliance efforts are focused on ensuring that servicers are falling contractual requirements and agreements. we are looking to ensure that borrowers are evaluated before the program. we evaluate loans for eligibility, soliciting or worse, and providing additional training to servicers staff. almo

. >> i do think with respect to fair treatment of homeowners with respect to the servicer, that the system as it is now was simply not developed with the prospect of a large number of foreclosures and troubled loans in mind. >> when you see the problems across the board, that's why i said in my testimony and will repeat here. i think you do need more of a national level that step by step process. one institution to one institution i don't think gets to the larger point you have been raising. services are supposed to implement this pregram. given the stories we have heard, reluctance to engage in second loan modifications i'm concern abouted where this is going the second lean program is part of the program to the general point, the existence of second leans has been problematic for us. the property rights run first to the first lean holder. in this whole loan modification effort we have been engaged in to figure out that the second lean holder ought to be taking protection. i would share the comments >> thank you. 2006, we had a huge housing crisis in this country. even before that, the mo

lucky for the homeowner there is just minimal damage. the homeowners that the evening with his chains stop cutting it down. jutland bennett shows how long the recall will last. >> we are seeing some rain pick up at this hour. nothing real widespread at this hour, we will be seen rain pick up as we head into tomorrow morning, and looked at the cemetery cosine you could see some heavier rains making its way up over the bonds. it is a league full week for over pal model. but there's still some struggles.we are again going to be seen some light come out play over the next night into tomorrow morning. temperatures are pretty mild right now in the upper 50s fellow '60s for the most part. did you two in santa rosa, 59 in hayward, 53 in that book. by 7:00 tomorrow morning heavy rain and wind expected, a possibility of thunderstorms in the 10 clock hour by new just scattered showers'. we'll take a look at future cast, coming up in just a bit. >> pretty kumar is tracking the storm in the north bay. so >> yes the key is all about yo right now i he

the homeowner says she thought it sounded like an airplane or maybe an earthquake.completely soaked from the rain. now, we're here on the oakland/san leandro border. the homeowner says that at the time that five people were inside and this was sunday afternoon. she said two of those people in her house had a very close call. >> i had two friends on the couch at the time, so just very, very happy that they did not get hit by the branches because everything else in the living room was smashed. >> reporter: damage inside that living room pretty bad. she took some pictures there. now, she says she had planned to go out of town for the holidays, but now she's not so sure if that's going to happen because she has to deal with all those holes in the roof. i also wanted to show you here, steve showing you this car here. it looks like the tree actually fell across and hit the car as well so quite a lot of damage here in oakland but at this point not a whole lot of rain. i'm going to toss it over to kris sanchez who's in pacifica. kris, how's it looking over there? >> reporte

east bay homeowners certainly cleaning up.ree crashed into a home. >> today in the bay's christie smith is live in oakland with a look at that damage. >> reporter: good morning to you. well, this is the type of thing that happens when we've had a lot of rain and the ground is saturated. the homeowner here says that it sounded like a plane crashing into her house or an earthquake. 75-foot tree tumbled over and landed right in the living room. five people were inside at the time. fortunately no one was hurt but two of them had a very close call. this is the oakland hills and the public works department is putting out a message to homeowners that 14 fire stations have sandbags available. if you need larger amounts, up to 20 of them, you can go to their offices over on edgewater near the airport and shepherd canyon in the oakland hills. they're also giving out those huge 50-foot sheets of plastic to try and protect your property from erosion, so certainly something you should know if the rain keeps up. at this point we're having a

the homeowner said she was holding her head hoping she wouldn't get hurt. to make matters worse, she had five people over. this was sunday. two of those people had a close call. >> i had two friends on the couch at the time, so just very, very happy that they did not get hit by the branches because everything else in the living room was smashed. >> reporter: and the damage inside of the living room there pretty bad. she said she had planned to go out of town for the holidays, now not so sure. she's got to deal with all the holes in her roof. i wanted to show you real quickly this is a car that is parked in front of that house as well so it looks like that was hit by one of these flying branches as well. that's the latest from here. reporting live in oakland, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> i know the worst isn't necessarily over. as the ground gets wet, those trees can still fall. >> reporter: absolutely. i have to say it's kind of dark out here. but when we were coming here, this particular block that we're on, this is the sheffield area, it's

. >>> tonight is a topic no homeowner wants to talk about. we're talking flees, dockroechz.ot a sight that homeowners want to see. >> i'll go to million-doctor infestation. >> they're like, i'm not dirty, i'm not dirty, i'm sure. >> people with pets a girlfriend in tokyo. >> and they bring back vacuums from customer to customer. >> now pest control alex. i made it clear in the rest of the house. >> he believes cleaning services are cross contaminating homes. vacuuming up roach, flea and bed bug. >> as they're vacuuming, then let me use my own bmb wade before entering a home. that is, if they don't want company to use their own bmb your wade. they love the cracks of their shoe. >> mystery solved for hundreds of homeowners now realizing their cleaning services may have unknowingly acted as bug taxis instead. >>> 3, 2, 1! new york city's most famous christmas tree is now lighting up rockefeller center. michael bloomberg did the honors. it's a 76t-oota-fll spruce raised by a firefighter. that tree will be lit until the new year. >>> governor schwarzenegger there getting a jump s

and smaller scale homeowner projects. i have a copy that indicates -- i would like to offern a an amendment. subsection a, this chapter will be applicable for more than -- and a development project proposed by a private developer with any funds unless the developer is required to comply with the planning code. i would offer that amendment. president chiu: supervisor dufty has made an amendment. without objection, the amendment passes. can we take this item same house, same call? without objection, it is passed on first reading as amended. >> item 22 amends the planning total established the home- improvement special use district and amending the zoning map. president chiu: this ordinance is passed on the first reading. item 23. >> confirmed the appointment to the redevelopment agency for a four-year term. president chiu: this motion is approved. >> appointing f.x. crowley. president chiu: this motion is approved. >> confirming the reappointment of the city administrator under charters section3. 3.104. president chiu: if w

that's a gap in the bank's interest and homeowners' interest. in that gap means that you go to foreclosure, then all that negative stuff on our economy you described earlier happens. now, in order to close that gap, yove got to take a hit to principle, right, and the bank takes a hit if they don't like, is that -- it seems like we're basically saying when that gap opens up, we basically let the bank make the call. am i right about that? why does that make sense? why shouldn't we be askinghe banks to take something of a hit so we get more of across our whole real estate market better outcomes? >> it's a very good question, and you're right that part of the difference between the number of people we've reached through permanent modifications and those we haven't is because it's relatively small amount of people where the npv return is negative. let's think about what you're suggesng. i think to decide that we're going to take the taxpayer's money so that people can afford to stay in a home that is really beyond their capacity to afford because we

homeowner in the cold in terms of have anybody to sue now that's come back to bite the big players like bank of america because when they try to push these loans back and hold accountable there's no one for them to push the loans back on and they get stuck they get stuck with what the responsibility what kind of size liability we're talking about some of estimated it's going to it's a size six trillion which would be bigger than the fannie mae. problem you know max i'm bad at predicting when you start getting that many zeros at the end of a number it sort of makes my head spin so i'm not really sure how big it's going to be it's definitely a problem and it's something that i think bank of america officials the media and you know top people in government really need to to dig into and understandings michael isn't it seems that every time these banks are caught breaking the law they simply change the law and in the case of these fraudulent four mortgage papers in particular the law about interstate notary requirements member obama simply put a pocket veto in is in his pocket to avoid havi

tonight: what happens when a government program to help homeowners misses the mark. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, the best companies are driven by new ideas. >> our history depends on new ideas. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities and tech companies. >> and yet, it's really basic. >> it's paying off everyday. >> this was me-- best ribs in nelson county. but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there, but it was frustrating trying to get the answers i needed. then, my company partnered with united healthcare. they provided on-site screenings, healthy cooking tips. that's a recipe i'm keeping. >> turning complex data into easy tools. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numb

they have yet to release the identity of the homeowner. we have yet to fully confirm his name so we're not going to release that information. we are told, however, that he is in critical condition being treated at the highland hospital. we're told he has burns all over his body, so absolutely a frightening scene here. >> yeah, you get a sense of the force of that explosion when you look at ta building -- that building. >> absolutely. >> thank you, robert. >>> three people from tracy who tortured a teenager for more than a year will spend at least three decades in prison. the judge sentenced them today. they admitted to holding then 16-year-old kyle ramirez in lyle's home while beating and starving him. two years ago kyle managed to escape the home and find help at a fitness club. prosecutors still don't know what motivated the defendants. >> everything we know, it defies logic and it defies the imagination as to what they were thinking when you have a young man starved in your home, shackled to your house and you continuously beat him. >>

policies. >> right now it's a good idea to check your homeowner's insurance policy. with a series of storms coming our way, tree expert brian finski says more insurance claims are inevitable. >> as we get more and more rains, and the soil becomes more and more saturated, and we get heavy winds, that's really going to cause trees to fail. >> i would just tell them, get the trees checked out ask mand sure they're not dead, make sure they're healthy. have professionals come out and look for that them for you. >> insurance companies also say make your claims early. that will only help you in the long run. i'm cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, cheryl. it is going to be a wet night and a wet commute in the morning, so whether you're heading to work or heading out for the holidays, it's a good idea to check in with us before you leave. our live coverage continues at today in the bay at 4:30. check out nbc bay area 4.com, because we'll let you know what's happening. >>> a follow-up to a story we first told you about last night at 11:00. barbara box ner and debra

big headaches for homeowners, big bucks for roofing companies. all of it, thanks to the nasty weather. live in san francisco with more on the scramble to plug leaky roofs, which were occurring all over the bay area. tracy? >> damp carpets, puddles on the floor. after this relentless series of storms -- a lot of homeowners are discovering leaks in the roof. some of them might have to wait weeks to g et the fix. >> we've had an ongoing issue with this little spot. and it's just gotten -- gradually getting worse since the rains began. >> from inside, you can see where the water is leaking. but from outside, on the roof, bill powers can't spot an obvious point of entry. >> we can eliminate the possibility of water tracking through the wood trim. >> roofers say winds can be tricky because water is running into places that it normally doesn't go. that explains why some bay area roofing companies already dealing with the increase in costs because of wet weather say after last night's blustery storm, they've been completely inundated with pleas for help.

elizabeth wenger tells us flooding has become such a problem for one bay area homeowner, it's causing the property value to plummet. >> 15 inches, over 15 inches right there. >> reporter: jason myers' wife captured this home video of water more than a foot deep outside their house in richmond. >> you know, what are you going to do but laugh? maybe it will bring attention to the city. >> reporter: a homeowner horror story, myers and his family have been dealing with every time it rains. due to a faulty drainage system. >> yeah, we could bail. at this point, it's gotten so frustrating that, you know, do we want to go through another winter? no, i don't think so. but, you know, what are you going to do? >> reporter: stormy weather caused other problems around the bay area. strong winds and rain took down this tree on battery street in san francisco. and a huge puddle of standing water partially flooded this on ramp to interstate 580 in richmond. in berkeley, some folks took advantage of a break in the rain to get outside for a walk on the beach. >> the wind is kind of harsh, you know wha

that kind of thing and were not able to afford to stay there -- as homeowner dues escalate. then, mr. spears, alternate offsite -- is that going to be just affordable housing at this point? ok, thank you. then, there is a condition on page 24 which relates to offset rental -- of such units being mental, which says if the project sponsor has entered into an agreement with the city permitting offset units to be rental, how does this relate to the recent court cases? >> [inaudible] under this, if the city entered into an agreement with the developer to provide certain types of public assistance, then you can have rental offsite housing. however, my understanding is that is not what is happening with the project here. i would assume that that condition is just to leave the project sponsor and the city's options open. >> the language and conditions here have been amended since the court case to accommodate the ruling. commissioner moore: to the first part of what commissioner sugaya was saying, he was taking the words out of my mouth. i would like to ask that we schedule some tim

. >> the storm is causing a lot of headaches for homeowners in the east bay.zabeth wanger on the battle one man is having keeping the floodwaters at bay. >> over 15 inches right there. >> reporter: jason meyers' wife captured this home video of water more than a foot deep outside their house in richmond. >> what are you going to do? maybe it will bring it to the attention of the city. >> reporter: a homeowner horror story, meyers and his familiar have been dealing with this every time it rains due to a faulty drainage system. >> yeah. we could bail. at this point it's gotten so frustrate doing we want to go through another winter? no, don't think so, but what are you going to do? >> reporter: stormy weather caused other problems around the bay area. strong winds and rain took this down tree in san francisco. a huge puddle of standing water partially flooded this on ramp to interstate 580 in richmond. in berkeley some folks took advantage of a break in the rain for a walk on the beach. >> the wind is kind of hard core, kind of hurts the eyes. >> reporter: over

. >> a flood of frustrations for one bay area homeowner. how the equity in his home has been washed away. >>> we are not alone. misery up and down the coast from the stormy december. good evening, i'm ann notarangelo. it has been a rough weekend with rainy weather. much of the bay area has felt the brunt of a massive pacific storm that has been drenching the area for days. water logged trees have fallen knocking out power to thousands of people. in st. mary's the rain fell hard enough to flood streets, neighborhoods and homes. accidents have been plentiful. where it is cold enough the rain has turned to snow and lots of it. already being measure in feet. more to come both in the high country and in the bay area. let's get the latest on the storm from meteorologist jim bernard who is in for lawrence karnow tonight. >> we actually missed the brunt of the moisture here as we got a bit of a break on saturday. however, that river of warm subtropical moisture brought lots of rain to the area. 1 to 2 inches across the greater bay area. we are look