Affordable and HOPE NOW to host help for homeowners event in Los Angeles

Government representatives, major mortgage servicers and non-profit counselors to offer assistance to struggling homeowners in California

The Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program and the HOPE NOW Alliance are bringing the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, along with several non-profit housing counseling organizations, to Los Angeles in April to work one-on-one with struggling homeowners in California.
The event will allow homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments the opportunity to review their options and learn about possible alternatives to foreclosure.
Last year’s Making Home Affordable / HOPE NOW event saw over 1,000 Los Angeles homeowners receive valuable mortgage assistance. The federal government and the industry have co-sponsored 13 events in California since 2009, attended by more than 15,000 homeowners. Eight of these events have taken place in southern California.
The free event will be held Tuesday, April 16th, 1:00pm – 8:00pm, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Street. Attendees are encouraged to park in the West Hall Garage on 11th Street and LA Live Way, where parking will be complimentary.
Homeowners will be seen on a first come, first-served basis and are encouraged to bring all mortgage documents, income documents, and hardship letters. A full list of the necessary documents can be found at www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov and www.HOPENOW.com.
Many of the largest mortgage companies are scheduled to be in attendance including Bank of America, Chase, Citi Mortgage, GMAC Mortgage, Homeward Residential (formerly American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.), HSBC, Nationstar, Ocwen, OneWest, PNC, Select Portfolio Servicing, Seterus, US Bank and Wells Fargo.
Additionally, there will be several non-profit housing counselors from local organizations on-site and representatives from state agencies, including Keep Your Home California funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund.
“This event offers struggling homeowners a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with their mortgage company and a housing expert approved by the federal government to discuss real solutions for their mortgage concerns,” said Chief of Homeownership Preservation at the U.S. Department of the Treasury Darius Kingsley.
“There are already more than 70,000 Los Angeles homeowners in the Making Home Affordable Program, saving a median of more than $870 every month on their mortgage payments. Every homeowner who attends this event will gain a clearer idea of the assistance available to them – and many homeowners will leave with a solution in hand.”
“There are still thousands of California families struggling with their mortgage payments, due to unemployment, under employment, medical hardship or other financial issues, and I encourage all of them to attend this free event. There are many tools available to assist homeowners who are current on their mortgages, as well as those struggling to make their monthly payments. Attendees will get good objective advice, and may even go home with an affordable solution that helps them stay in their home for the long term,” said Eric Selk, Executive Director of HOPE NOW.
The Making Home Affordable Program is a free government program designed to help families avoid foreclosure and strengthen the housing market recovery. Making Home Affordable offers options to help homeowners modify or refinance their mortgage loan to make their monthly payments more affordable, take a temporary break from their mortgage payments if they are struggling from unemployment, receive targeted principal reduction in certain circumstances or relocate through a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. For more information, visit MakingHomeAffordable.gov.
HOPE NOW is the industry-created alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, counselors, and other mortgage market participants, brought together by the Financial Services Roundtable, Housing Policy Council and Mortgage Bankers Association, that has developed and is implementing a coordinated plan to help as many homeowners as possible prevent foreclosure and stay in their homes. For more information, go to www.HopeNow.com.

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