Fannie Mae’s Florida-Based Mortgage Help Center Sees Success

In just the first few months of operation, ""Fannie Mae's"":http://www.fanniemae.com/kb/index?page=home mortgage help center in South Florida has been able to provide assistance to more than 700 Miami-Dade metro area mortgage borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosure.

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""As DSNews.com previously reported"":http://dsnews.comarticles/fannie-mae-opens-mortgage-help-center-in-miami-2010-02-22, the center was opened in late February through a partnership between Fannie Mae and ""Neighborhood Services of South Florida"":http://www.mdnhs.org/ (NHSSF). This facility offers free mortgage and financial counseling to homeowners at risk of foreclosure and is the first in a series of local centers that the mortgage financier plans to open across the country.

""Hundreds of struggling homeowners in the Miami-Dade metro area have already benefited from real help and quality customer service from the Mortgage Help Center, operated through our strong local partnership with NHSSF,"" said Terry Edwards, EVP of Fannie Mae. ""The

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mortgage help center is providing homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments, or who foresee a potential financial hardship, with free access to information and services that can assist them in making the decision that is most appropriate for their circumstances.""

Fannie Mae said the goal of the mortgage help center is to accelerate the response time for struggling homeowners and improve the company's resolution of problem loans. And it seems to be working.

According to the government-sponsored enterprise, experienced on-site housing counselors have already helped 140 homeowners with Fannie Mae-owned mortgages stay in their homes by completing the necessary documentation required by servicers to qualify for loan modifications or other foreclosure prevention programs. Fannie Mae said other homeowners receiving assistance from counselors at the center remain in the process of having their documents collected, reviewed, and submitted, or they have received guidance on a graceful exit strategy.

""The direct connection between the mortgage help center and Fannie Mae and other servicers allows us to target a faster turnaround on solutions for borrowers,"" said Arden Shank, president and chief executive of NHSSF. ""This contrasts sharply with stories of borrowers who have spent six months or more just to make contact with their lenders.""