Tuesday, March 10, 2009

9News, March 10


Gregg Moss, who is one of my favorite humans, has done a lot for the Foreclosure Hotline lately. On Tuesday, we discussed the heavy volume of calls we're dealing with these days.

Here is the link to the video.

Update: I put out a release on Hotline call volume that was picked up by the AP on March 11th. 9News then re-used the Tuesday morning video with this newly written web story:

DENVER - Even though foreclosures are on the decline here in Colorado, the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force Hotline received a record number of calls last month.

In February alone, the Foreclosure Hotline received more than 4,500 calls, in part due to new programs being offered by the government to help with this problem.

President Obama passed the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP) last month, which will encourage mortgage servicers to offer lower interest rates, extend loans to 40 years and even forgive principle. In January, Congress passed The American Revitalization and Recovery Act (ARRA), which provides money for people who can't avoid foreclosure or who has already lost their home.

Ryan McMaken, with the Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce says, with so many people seeking assistance and wanting to know if these programs can help them, lenders are becoming overwhelmed.

"Notice in this case, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil," said McMaken. "You want to first make sure you have all of your paperwork in order to show that you are ready to go and then make sure that you're the type of person that can get through the system and get noticed."

The Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Task Force is a non-profit organization that provides housing counselors who can help answer questions and find the best solution for you. This free hotline service can help homeowners in a variety of situations, from those who think they may miss a mortgage payment in the future to those who have already received a notice of foreclosure.

"(When people call our hotline) they're going to figure out all of those things that they need to find out before they really start to work with their lender."

If you have questions foreclosure, you can call the hotline at 1-877-601-HOPE or go to the Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Task Force at http://www.dola.state.co.us/cdh/foreclosure.htm.

9News, February 23

Here's a story that features the Div. of Housing.