171,485 New Listings - March 2010 - Last update March 13, 2010 12:30 PM EST 
Homeowners Protest Hope
A group called “The Philadelphia Unemployment Project’s Foreclosure Crisis Committee” picketed a home ownership forum presented by the Hope Now Alliance. PUP picketed the forum so they could call attention to the need for a better response to subprime foreclosures. This is something that the Hope Now Alliance promotes heavily.
The Hope Now alliance was created to reach out to homeowners who may be in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The alliance includes financial counselors and individuals in the mortgage industry.
The alliance was formed to improve communication between non-profit organizations and lenders so homeowners could work on options to save their homes. Hope Now offers counseling sessions as well.
In Philadelphia, subprime loans have increased a great deal in the past three years. PUP believes that homeowners need real assistance and not just promises of assistance. PUP has counselors that help home owners but the help they offer would not be enough to protect families in the city.
The Hope Now Alliance operates a hotline to assist homeowners but the hotline has gained a reputation for being of little help to many homeowners and for causing frustration. The mortgage industry dominates the Alliance heavily.
As the Alliance was planning the forum they did not contact local housing counselors until the last minute. A flyer was produced to advertise the event and included a phone number where individuals could inquire about the event. However, the phone number that was printed on the flyer was bad one. The calls were routed to a female in Las Vegas.
The federal government has pointed to the Hope Now hotline as a way to assist homeowners but it has opposed bills that would let judges modify loans and allow HUD to buy and change subprime loans.
MSNBC recently reported on the Hope Now hotline and as a result of the story, numerous emails came in from homeowners who criticized the hotline. The hotline that was designed to help the distressed homeowners has left callers feeling frustrated instead of hopeful. Customers have complained about the lack of follow-up, long wait times and minor loan modification that did little to help them out of their current situation.
Customers have reported trouble getting through to counselors, confusion on who is eligible to be helped, and slipshod reviews of their cases.
PUP is looking for a system that uses housing counseling agencies that are located in the city. They want this system to include tentative modifications of loan agreements for homeowners in distress and the forwarding of this information to those who service mortgages so that the modifications can be approved.
In Philadelphia about fifty percent of loans made in 2005 were subprime.
Without a partnership between lenders and homeowners, PUP asserts that many homes will be lost. This would devastate families and many properties in Philadelphia neighborhoods will be abandoned. Lenders and investors would lose out as well. Lenders will be unable to keep up with the numerous loan workouts and modifications that will be needed in the coming years in the city of Philadelphia.
Search Foreclosed Homes
- Philadelphia Foreclosed Homes
- Las Vegas Foreclosed Homes
- Florida Foreclosed Homes
- Texas Foreclosed Homes
- California Foreclosed Homes
- Ohio Foreclosed Homes
- Psychological Effects of Foreclosure
- Will 2010 Be a Better Year For Foreclosures?
- Helping Foreclosure Victims
- Understanding the Pre-Foreclosure Process
- Government thinking about Foreclosure Freeze
- Foreclosure Strategies - Looking for Recovery
A loan modification is a great alternative to foreclosure. MIZNA (loanmod.com) helped me complete a loan mod with my current lender. Of all the companies I researched to help me avoid foreclosure, MIZNA was the most credible and even had various articles written about it in large newspapers. One tip I would give other struggling homeowners looking to modify their loan is that if a loan mod company does not have a mailing address on their contact information page, then I would not do business with them. There are so many scams going on out there that borrowers should be vigilant and not trust every company that has a website. You want to make sure you’re working with real people who care. MIZNA definitely cares about homeowners and they did wonders for me. Check them out at http://www.loanmod.com .
This is very interesting because the media has blown the HOPE NOW initiative up to be the “Cure to the Foreclosure Crisis.”
I have tried to contact HOPE to offer assistance, yet they are unwilling to collaborate if an organization is not a nonprofit organization.