Mortgage Assistance Provided to Troubled New York Homeowners

In an effort to assist struggling homeowners with their mortgages, ""HOPE NOW"":http://www.hopenow.com/, the administration's Making Home Affordable Program, and ""NeighborWorks America"":http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp co-sponsored a three-day homeownership preservation event last week in Uniondale, New York.

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The event had representatives from 16 mortgage servicers and more than a dozen local HUD-approved housing counselors on hand to provide assistance to the 2,353 ""at-risk"" borrowers in attendance. In addition, the event gave homeowners the opportunity to bring in any documents needed to complete applications for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

""HOPE NOW has been involved in more than 70 of these events nationwide since 2008, and this was our first trip

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to Long Island,"" said Faith Schwartz, executive director of HOPE NOW. ""The servicers and counselors in attendance did an admirable job, despite some technology issues on the first day, and we are confident that we made an impact in the region. We are thankful that several local partners were on hand to assist and make these three days successful.""

Phyllis Caldwell, chief of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office, said the Long Island event gave New Yorkers a first-hand opportunity to join more than 1 million homeowners across the country who have already been offered free help from the Making Home Affordable Program.

Alice, a homeowner from Brooklyn, attended the first day of the event and said she was pleased she made the trip to Uniondale. She was waiting for a decision on the loan modification paperwork she had already submitted and decided to attend the event to find out the status. She left the event knowing that Ocwen was able to reduce her interest to 2 percent, and her monthly payments were reduced by almost $1,100.

These homeownership preservation events will continue throughout the year in various cities across the nation. Currently, events are scheduled for May 11 and May 12 in Anaheim, California; May 14 and May 15 in San Bernardino, California; May 24 in Columbus, Ohio; and May 26 in Kansas City, Missouri.