Foreclosure Avoidance Workshops Offer Quick Help for Mortgage Woes

Wouldn't it be great to solve all your mortgage problems in just a day?

There are a lot of horror stories out there about homeowners getting an endless runaround in trying to obtain a loan modification under the government's Making Home Affordable plan, spending weeks trying to get their application approved while their financial situation steadily worsens. But there is a way to get quick help - but you have to be alert for the opportunity.

Mortgage assistance and foreclosure avoidance workshops offer a means for large numbers of homeowners in a community to work out loan modifications in a single day. Typically sponsored by HUD-approved credit counseling agencies, government agencies and occasionally members of Congress, these events bring together lenders and financially distressed homeowners in a setting designed to expedite the loan modification process.

Can handle hundreds of homeowners in a few days

Such events typically feature participation by 6-10 lenders and often draw hundreds of homeowners, according to Doug Robinson, a spokesman for NeighborWorks America, a national credit counseling agency that frequently cosponsors such events. While not everyone is able to obtain a loan modification on site, he said there are enough successful applicants to make it a worthwhile investment of time.

Usually, the process takes about 2-3 hours, including meeting with a credit counselor to discuss the borrower's situation, then meeting with the lender's representative to see if a loan modification can be arranged. To be able to complete the loan modification process at the workshop, it's important that borrowers bring with them the proper documentation of their loan and financial situation.

"The more documents you bring with you about your loan and your situation, the more likely you'll work through the process quickly and come to some kind of resolution," Robinson said.

Information to bring with you

Some of the most important documents to bring are:

• Your current mortgage statements

• Pay stubs or other documentation of income

• Copies of your most recent tax returns

• Current statements for any second mortgage or home equity loan or line of credit

• Statements for all credit cards, automobile loans or other debt

• A brief letter describing your financial situation and the reasons for falling behind on your mortgage

Finding out when a workshop is coming to your area can be a bit of a challenge, though. Planning logistics often make it difficult to finalize an event more than a few weeks in advance, Robinson said.

"There are a lot of pieces that need to fall into place," he said. "You can't schedule if 5-6 months ahead."

Both the HOPE NOW alliance and government-supported secondary lender Freddie Mac list some upcoming workshops on their web sites. Participating lenders and mortgages servicers often list events on their web sites, although finding the listings can be difficult. Upcoming workshops may also be publicized in local media in the communities where they will be held.

More commonly though, lenders learn about upcoming events directly from their lenders or servicers. Robinson said that before an event, lenders will check their records for homeowners in the area who are falling behind on their mortgages and send them notices of the event. Often, they will also send notices to borrowers with adjustable loans that are due to reset soon as well.

Don't neglect correspondence from lender

Unfortunately, homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage payments are sometimes reluctant to open mailings from their lender. As a result, they sometimes don't get notice that a foreclosure avoidance workshop is scheduled for their area. Robinson and other credit counselors urge borrowers who are falling behind on their mortgages to always read any correspondence from their lenders, because it may contain information on possible mortgage workouts.

For listings of many upcoming foreclosure avoidance workshops around the nation, visit the Hope Now and Freddie Mac web sites.