HAMP and unemployment insurance

For those who follow the progress of the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, it is possible to use unemployment insurance payments to qualify for a loan modification. Good Idea? It will certainly allow some borrowers to complete a modification and perhaps to keep up with that modification until those unemployment payments run out. The optimistic will say it’s likely the borrower just needs a little time to find a job, then they’ll have regular income to replace the unemployment. The realistic will counter that many people who have recently lost work aren’t likely to find employment in the industries where they once worked.
Anyone who worked in the construction trades or in any real estate segment probably isn’t going to see new jobs opening up anytime soon. The same holds true with manufacturing, information and professional and business services.

Sept. 09 Unemployment Rates in selected sectors from BLS
17.1% Construction
11.9% Manufacturing
11.2% Information
11.3% Professional and business services
11.1% Agriculture and related private wage and salary workers

I don’t see it as anything more than “kick the can”, with the hope the can gets kicked far enough the real estate market will begin to recover before too many modifications fall apart.