Ohio Nonprofit Pulls Out All The Stops To Prevent Foreclosures

Struggling homeowners who face foreclosure, like the nearly 4 million who stand to lose homes this year, rarely have places to turn for help. According to The New York Times, one Ohio nonprofit is changing that.

Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP) is a Cleveland-based nonprofit whose mission is to keep homeowners in their homes, reports The Press.

ESOP takes a civil approach, but stops at nothing to get lenders to negotiate options for homeowners who face foreclosure.

An honest intermediary is often necessary in foreclosure cases, especially on the heels of the "robo-signer" scandal, in which mortgage lenders allegedly signed off on hundreds of thousands of foreclosures illegally to repossess homes on the cheap -- and illegally foreclose on homeowners.

According to The Times, ESOP eliminates such risks:

[ESOP] has gotten several large companies, including Bank of America, CitiMortgage, Ocwen Financial Corporation, and Litton Loan Servicing, to sign "fair lending agreements" which spell out the terms of their working relationship...lenders provide a single point of contact, someone with decision making authority.

Last year the Obama administration launched the Home Affordable Modification Program to reduce mortgages for struggling homeowners, but nearly half who initially enrolled in the program have since fallen out, according to the Associated Press.

ESOP's approach is perhaps more effective. It is a free service, and can tell unbiasedly whether a lender is offering a good deal. And, according to The Times, they practice tough love when dealing with borrowers:

The goal is to help clients take control of their lives, not to cushion them from reality. If three phone calls to a client go unanswered or a document requested fails to arrive within five days, the file is closed. The tough love approach works. In 2009, 5,011 homeowners walked into ESOP's offices and 63 percent complied with all information requests.

According to The Press, funding primarily comes from state and federal grants, though a significant portion is privately funded.

To donate, visit ESOP, or read more about its efforts at The New York Times.

Comments

[Mattjoe3]

10:37 PM on 12/09/2010

CIBC may be intentionally causing foreclosures.
Canada Credit Fix investigates CIBC Mortgage for "manufacturing foreclosures" and discovers that the national mortgage lender may be purposely causing huge losses. Canada Credit Fix states that it is grossly irresponsible not to mitigate damages.

http://www.prlog.org/10626685-cibc-may-be-intentionally-causing-foreclosures.html

[RightToCancel]

02:14 PM on 12/09/2010

TJ "The Central Bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the principles and form of our Constitution if the American people allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."1 The most rewarding things about this epic battle that is the foreclosure fight is meeting homeowners and other advocates who are standing up and fighting for themselves and fighting for the heart and soul of our courthouses. http://www.righttocancel.com/?id=todd
We have only seen the tip of the mortgage crisis. The scariest part currently of this crisis is that people are losing hope, The common consensus is "why bother...the bank doesn't care...why should I? I will just go rent." The American dream has gone from aspiring to own your own home to just hoping to keep your home. http://www.righttocancel.com/?id=todd
If you feel that you have been a victim of predatory lending practices or are currently facing a foreclosure, contact us today and learn how you can take action against your lender using our proven administrative procedure that has already help so many people fight back against the banks and get resolution! [e-mail] Office: 813-321-5114

[Iris Polk]

01:56 AM on 12/09/2010

As a general rule, if you can shave at least a half point off your current interest rate, it is a good idea to refinance. If you currently have a home mortgage above 7%, the time is now to make a change. Look online for "123 Mortgage Refinance" they gave me the lowest rate than everybody else which is 3.21%.