Homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure have two options: call their lender or get help from a nonprofit counseling agency. They say the second option is better.
But what is this role that counselors perform in the life of a troubled homeowner?
Housing counseling is what they offer. Homeowners who are behind their payments are more inclined to consult a housing counselor for faster accommodation of their problems. Why? Because more often, the lines of lenders are busy for they take a long time asking this and that questions and saying everything in a single call. They even fail to record calls so some callers’ dilemmas have been missed out. This is probably with the kind of training of their employees.
Housing counselors actually have access to supervisors who can make certain decisions when it comes to loan modifications and mortgage repayment plans. This is why processing is faster. The counselors just get the needed information, do some evaluation and come up with a workout plan to be submitted to the supervisor.
Workouts can involve forbearance, wherein a borrower pays extra every month for one or two years to repay the past-due amount. Mortgage modifications are done through lowering the interest rate (freezing), forgiving a portion of the debt, or by extending the date of payoff.
Publicity campaigns have been conducted by government officials, mortgage servicers, and nonprofit agencies to inform everyone, especially homeowners facing foreclosure that foreclosure-prevention help is available.
Another good thing is that, four mortgage servicers—Chase, CitiMortgage, Ocwen, and SPS—have partnered with Chicago’s National Training and Information Center and has now created an information-gathering form to be sure that only necessary information would be asked from the borrower and for faster action too.
Distressed homeowners can survive foreclosure for as long as they know who to approach when faced with such a situation.
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HUD Fair Housing Equal Opportunity
