WASHINGTON — HOPE NOW last week announced that it has come to an agreement on a statement of principles to ensure quality service and assistance for mortgage borrowers.
"All lenders in the alliance have committed to reaching out to every borrower facing a reset before the reset occurs to determine if they will have difficulty paying," HOPE NOW Project Manager Faith Schwartz said. "The Principles will also allow us to expedite cases with consumer counselors quickly."
HOPE NOW is an alliance of some of the nation's largest mortgage market participants, counselors and mortgage servicers–encouraged by the Treasury Department–to create a unified, coordinated plan to reach and help as many homeowners as possible.
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All HOPE NOW members have agreed to try to contact at-risk borrowers at least 120 days before their ARM resets and inform the borrower of the potential increase in payments and the terms of the loan. They have agreed to work with borrowers in "imminent danger of default" on workout plans. Finally, alliance members may recommend borrowers to Department of Housing and Urban Development-certified counselors.
HOPE NOW also plans to establish a single port of entry for all participant counselors to use by January 2008. The agreement would provide for dedicated e-mail and fax connectivity for counselors. Requests must be acknowledged in two business days and all options would be explored prior to foreclosure.
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