Chase said today its counselors will work with struggling homeowners “as long as 12 hours a day” at special events intended to prevent borrowers from falling into foreclosure.
Chase and other top mortgage lenders, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, have initiated several assistance programs in the face of an unabated foreclosure crisis, with a growing number of homeowners owing more than the value of their property.
In Congressional testimony last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner lashed out at all mortgage servicers who signed up for the government’s incentive-based effort, Home Affordable Modification Program, HAMP. Geithner said he was troubled by increasing complaints from borrowers that servicers have not done enough to stop foreclosure.
But Geithner himself has been under fire from lenders, lawmakers and borrower advocates who say that HAMP is poorly run and widely ineffective
Chase and the others, though, say they are pressing on with their own, non-governmental programs.
Over the next five months, Chase said it will hold the “foreclosure prevention events” in eight major markets, following what the lender called a successful series of such programs in Florida, where counselors met with 3,200 customers.
Half of those homeowners spoke with counselors in less than 10 minutes, and a total of 85 percent waited less than 30 minutes before one became available. Almost three-quarters of the customers said “their experience was excellent while another 12 percent said it was very good,” Chase said of the Florida events.
The event series is an extension of the lender’s 51 Chase Homeownership Centers across the nation that have assisted 91,000 borrowers since they started opening early last year.
Chase plans to host multi-day events in the following markets: Chicago (May 13 – 17); Atlanta (June); Washington, D.C. (June); New York; Northern California; Orlando; Phoenix; and Southern California. Chase will provide updates on its website.
At the events, homeowners with Chase mortgages will be assisted in initiating mortgage modifications to lower payments or will be provided details on short-sale assistance if they cannot afford their home or don’t want to stay in it. They will also counsel those who are current on their mortgages but are struggling.
Since Jan.1, 2009, Chase said it has offered more than 750,000 modifications to struggling homeowners under HAMP; its own foreclosure mitigation programs; and those offered by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Veterans Administration and the Federal Housing Authority.
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