The Neighborhood Housing Service of Chicago (NHS) and the Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) announced the opening of the of Borrower Help Centers on January 28, 2010. The help centers are part of a national pilot program to help financially distressed people with Freddie Mac owned mortgages.
Chicago area home owners who are delinquent on their Freddie Mac owned mortgages may be able to find help at two new walk-in Borrower Help Centers located in on Chicago's North and South sides. The new centers are part of a new national pilot program designed to provide holistic financial counseling to financially distressed people whose mortgage is owned by Freddie Mac.
Borrowers in financial distress may be eligible for a loan modification, but may have never called their mortgage servicers may not know how to ask for loan modification for have gotten discouraged and stopped trying. The new walk-in Borrower Help Centers will offers delinquent borrowers with Freddie Mac owned mortgage counseling. The help centers will offer confidential, 'holistic' financial counseling and one on one help to obtain a mortgage modification form from their lender.
A recent NeighborWorks America study found that borrowers who received counseling from reputable neighborhood groups were 60 percent more likely to avoid foreclosure than borrowers who did not received such counseling. The centers are designed to hep delinquent borrowers who need a reliable guide to help them navigate the process of working out the modification process. “We are working with LUCHA and the NHS of Chicago because they have the expertise and the community’s trust to be the difference that puts a borrower back on their financial feet and keeps a family in their home.” said said Dwight Robinson, Senior Vice President for Corporate Relations and Housing Outreach at Freddie Mac.
Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA)
The Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) has 27 years of experience in helping homeowners, bilingual counselors, according to LUCHA Executive Director Juan B. Rivera, who said “Our bi-lingual counselors will work with borrowers in crisis and mortgage companies to develop the best workable solutions and do whatever is possible to keep homeowners from losing their home.” The LUCHA Borrower Help Center is located on Chicago’s South Side at 1152 N Christiana Avenue, Chicago, Il. 60647. For more information, contact LUCHA at 773-489-8484.
Neighborhood Housing Service of Chicago (NHS)
The Neighborhood Housing Service of Chicago (NHS) has helped homeowners since 1975, according to Michael van Zalinger, Director of Homeownership Services for NHS, who stated, “Since 1975, NHS has been proud to help homeowners buy, fix and keep their home. The new Borrower Help Center is an exciting new way to link borrowers to loss mitigation assistance that’s effective, responsive and quick.” The Chicago NHS Borrower Help Center on is located on Chicago’s North Side at 1279 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60642. For more information, call 773-329-4185 (English) or 773-329-4181 (Spanish).
Potential eligible borrowers identified by Freddie Mac will be contacted by LUCHA or NHS of Chicago to schedule confidential, one-on-one appointments. Delinquent borrowers with Freddie Mac owned mortgages can also schedule free appointments by walking in to the Borrower Help Centers.
The counselors at each Borrower Help center are trained to review mortgage workout requirements with their clients and provide guidance on an individual basis. Counselors will work with Home Retention Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Lender Services, Inc., to help borrowers effectively connect with their mortgage servicers. Counselors will also work with borrowers on other outstanding debt and credit issues, such as credit card debts or auto loans that may also be causing financial distress.
Freddie Mac is also opening up similar Borrower Help Centers in Phoenix, Arizona; Washington, DC and California’s Inland Empire and launching a separate Borrower Help Network of non-profit organizations to provide similar holistic financial counseling by phone to targeted borrowers nationwide. (For more information, visit freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure.)
Written by Christine Nyholm
Huliq.com
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