Freddie Puts Mortgage Help on YouTube

By:: Kara Johnson | March 22, 2011

In an effort to educate homeowners about loan modifications and coping with foreclosure, Freddie Mac is turning to YouTube.

A new video series on the Freddie Mac YouTube channel, titled “Get the Facts on Foreclosure,” deals with what it calls five commonly held myths about foreclosure and the process of getting a loan modification. Each video runs about two minutes in length and focuses on a commonly held concern among homeowners in financial distress.

“Individuals are worried about scams and fraud, and don't know who to safely turn to for help,” said Dwight Robinson, a Freddie Mac senior vice president. “The videos provide information and resources that just might keep individuals from losing their home.”

The five myths covered by the videos are 1) a foreclosure means you can never buy a home again, 2) stopping your mortgage payments will help you obtain a loan modification or mortgage assistance, 3) being late on your mortgage payments means you’ll lose your house, 4) all offers of mortgage assistance are scams, and 5) if your lender doesn’t respond to your inquiries, you should just give up and face foreclosure.

Each video offers a simple, straightforward explanation of the topic covered, along with several pointers for dealing with the situation. For example, the video about scams notes that while there are a lot of scam artists operating out there, you should never ignore an offer of assistance from your lender. A legitimate offer from your lender, the video says, will always include your loan number.

The anti-scam video goes on to add several pieces of advice, including that no one should charge you an upfront fee for working with your lender to modify a delinquent loan, ask for your personal financial information when you don’t know them, or offer you a loan modification or other foreclosure alternative unless they are your lender.

Unfortunately, the videos are not particularly well-labeled on the Freddie Mac site – each is simply labeled “Get the Facts on Foreclosure” #1, #2, #3, etc. To find out which deals with which topic, you have to check the short summary that accompanies each video.

The Foreclosure Myths series is the second group of videos posted to Freddie Mac’s newly established YouTube channel; a first batch posted just last week like avoiding foreclosure, mortgage fraud and the Making Home Affordable Program, some of which are also offered in Spanish.

The Freddie Mac YouTube channel is at http://www.youtube.com/FreddieMac.

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