subject: Reputable Counselors Can Help If You Are Facing Foreclosure [print this page] Reputable Counselors Can Help If You Are Facing Foreclosure
If you are experiencing desperation with the state of your mortgage, don't let yourself be suckered in by less-than-reputable businesses that claim to give you a quick resolution but really just take your money. There is help available - help you can rely on - and it comes in the form of counseling.
Unlike those who want to just make a fast buck, counseling really helps. Those who received counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program had an increased probability of keeping their homes and decreasing their payments. In addition, the National Homeownership Programs helps educate homeowners before they buy.
Counselors help homeowners put together the loan documents lenders need to consider loan modifications. This also helps the homeowners have a better understanding of their current financial situation and whether or not they can realistically afford their home.
This new federal program handles both unemployment and negative equity (or being "underwater") - when a homeowner loses a job AND the home value has dropped so that he owes more than his home is worth. Many analysts blame lenders for not reducing principal and bringing home values and loan values more in line.
The program offers incentives to lenders who reduce principal on loans, and it helps provide temporary housing for those who lose their jobs. Counselors can then help the homeowner move forward and decide if selling is in her best interest, or if the new payments will be realistic.
Counselors find help for those who need it, and they helped three quarters of a million borrowers in 2008 alone. Counseling works. Homeowners just need to look for it before it's too late.
To find an approved counselor near you, visit the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development's HUD website.
To learn more about this program, visit the NeighborWorks America site.
