If you’re facing foreclosure – a phone call may be all it takes to keep your home.
That call will connect you with free professional counseling during the third Foreclosure Prevention Phone-A-Thon, sponsored by the Home Ownership Center (HOC) of Greater Cincinnati.
Callers can dial 1-877-7BUZZUS from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. plus 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday to begin the process.
This Phone-A-Thon is bigger, better and designed to assist more homeowners.
The U.S. Treasury Department has signed on as a partner, joining the HOC, Legal Aid Society, CET-TV, WCPO-TV, U.S. Bank and Cincinnati Bell.
"It’s a huge undertaking as you might imagine, but the need is great," said Home Ownership Center president and CEO Rick Williams. His comments came during a Tuesday kickoff for the event at the CET Studios in the West End.
Over 1,800 people called during the first event in 2008. That number jumped to 3,300 in February of 2009 and a much higher volume is expected this time. Planners have taken that into account.
Instead of 10 phones, 55 have been installed. In previous Phone-A-Thons, counselors took all of a client’s information by hand. This time they have computers. CET’s Studio A looks like the command center for a space shuttle mission.
"What that does is it allows us to more quickly respond to the caller by automating the intake process," Williams said.
Lakicia Roseman, Foreclosure Prevention Program Manager for the Homeownership Center, says callers will receive an action plan, a budget and a financial analysis within a week of the Phone-A-Thon.
Then, they’ll either be able to meet face-to-face with a representative of participating lenders or begin education classes in foreclosure prevention.
The process normally takes six to eight months. Now, it’s being drastically reduced.
"For our homeowners to actually sit down and work something out within 30 days is amazing," said Roseman.
Williams added that before anyone calls, they need to do some homework and gather the proper paperwork to meet with their lender.
"It’s proof of income. It’s the last statements from your lender/servicer of your mortgage payments. It is knowledge of your assets, taxes and bank statements," he stated. "Those sorts of documents are going to be critical moving forward with the lender."
Then, the next step is actually calling the Phone-A-Thon.
"We want to get to you before it’s too late," said Ohio 1st District U.S. Representative Steve Driehaus.
"We don’t want to get to you when the bank is knocking on the door or when the servicer is calling."
Legal Aid’s Mary Asbury emphasized that the Phone-A-Thon help is
FREE."This is a terrific opportunity to get in touch with legal help at an early stage of a potential foreclosure when there is much more opportunity to resolve the situation before someone is way behind and has gotten involved with the court system,” she said.
