Columbus, OH – August 11, 2008 – (RealEstateRama) — With the Cleveland/Lorain/Elyria/Mentor metropolitan area ranked 26th in the nation in the rate of foreclosures during the second quarter of 2008 (RealtyTrac), the State of Ohio is sponsoring an event today to help Lorain County residents avoid foreclosure.
Borrower Outreach Day is being held today from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Lorain County Community College, Spitzer Conference Center, 1005 North Abbe Road, Elyria. The event is being sponsored by the Ohio Department of Commerce in partnership with Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
Note: To protect the privacy of the individuals attending this event, no cameras or video cameras are permitted.
Speakers at today’s event are: Ron Nabakowski, Lorain County Clerk of Courts; Doug Shelby, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Field Office Director; and Kyana Darner of Treasurer Cordray’s Office.
Borrower Outreach Days are an outgrowth of the number one recommendation of the Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, which called for borrower outreach events to encourage Ohioans to take action by contacting their mortgage servicer if they are concerned about possible foreclosure.
Today’s event in Elyria is the seventh Borrower Outreach Day. More events are scheduled across the state this month: tomorrow in Youngstown; Wednesday in Canton; August 19 in Butler County and August 20 in Dayton.
At today’s Borrower Outreach Day, mortgage servicers are meeting one-on-one with borrowers who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments. The servicers are:
Chase
Flagstar
Freddie Mac
Homecomings Financial
US Bank Home Mortgage
Washington Mutual
Ocwen and Wilshire Credit Corp. (their borrowers are working with ESOP, a housing counseling agency that has a relationship with these servicers)
Housing experts and housing counselors are participating in the event and attendees are gaining valuable information from the following workshops:
· Rebuilding Your Credit
· Keys to Home Preservation
· Steps in the Foreclosure Process
· Borrower Beware: Foreclosure Rescue Scams
· The Option of Mediation
Borrower Outreach Days complement the State of Ohio’s Save the Dream campaign, which is designed to help Ohioans take action to save the dream of homeownership. The public awareness campaign includes an information-rich Web site at www.savethedream.ohio.gov and a telephone hotline (888-404-4674).
The core message of the Save the Dream campaign is for homeowners to:
· Contact their mortgage loan servicer at the first sign that they may have difficulty in making their mortgage payment.
· At the same time, work with a HUD-approved housing counselor and/or a legal aid or pro bono attorney.
Contact: Dennis Ginty at (614) 644-9564
dennis.ginty (at) com.state.oh (dot) us
