Foreclosure fears? Get answers at forum

Foreclosure fears? Get answers at forum

November 28, 2007

By KATHLEEN GRAY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox along with 18 mortgage lenders will host a community forum Dec. 13 to help people avoid getting their homes foreclosed.

Roughly 31,500 people who are on the edge of a foreclosure — one to three months behind in payments — will receive letters this week about the forum, where the 18 lenders and 31 counselors from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department will be on hand at the Cobo Hall forum to offer on advice and practical help on getting caught up.

“Borrowers can talk in person with the companies that are servicing their notes on how to save their homes,” Cox said Wednesday.

In some cases, the homeowner can renegotiate the loan with the lender, especially if the interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage is scheduled to increase within the next year, Cox said.

The state is limited in what it can do to work on the foreclosure problem in Michigan because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. So the forum, which will run from noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 13, was one of the few ways Cox said he could help.

“We’re not going to be able to solve everyone’s problem,” he said. “But we’re trying to find a niche where we can help.”

The 18 mortgage lenders participating in the program are Carrington Mortgage Services; Saxon Mortgage Co.; GMAC ResCap; Countrywide; Wells Fargo; Ocwen; Option One; Chase; EMC; Wilshire; HomEq Servicing; HSBC; National City Bank; Washington Mutual; Select Portfolio Servicing; Litton Loan Servicing; CitiMortgage and Home Loan Services.

For homeowners with a different mortgage lender, the HUD counselors will be able to offer help. Residents also can call the Attorney General’s consumer assistance hotline at 877-765-8388.