At a briefing of state housing counselors held at the HomeFree-USA office in Prince George’s County in Maryland, Congressman Steny Hoyer and Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development Secretary Raymond Skinner both expressed their support for HOPE LoanPort, the new counselor Web-based tool that streamlines submission of completed loan modification applications, including those used for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). This effectively makes Maryland the first state in the nation to publicly endorse the HOPE LoanPort program.

In a room full of Maryland housing counselors, mortgage servicers, state officials and others; Congressman Hoyer praised housing counselors for their efforts and Secretary Skinner discussed the need for improved technology in assisting at-risk homeowners with loan modifications.

“It is discouraging to continually hear that lost paperwork is stalling impending mortgage solutions," said Secretary Skinner. "We believe that HOPE LoanPort will allow housing counselors across the state to focus on reaching positive outcomes rather than dealing with missing documents. As a state housing finance agency, we also look forward to using HOPE LoanPort as a tool to solve loss mitigation issues with our borrowers."

“HOPE LoanPort is the future of loan modification efficiency," said Larry Gilmore, chief executive officer of HOPE LoanPort. "Our proprietary Web portal allows housing counselors to submit fully completed modification applications to mortgage servicers for easier resolution. We are thrilled that the state of Maryland has thrown its support behind HOPE LoanPort and we hope that other states will follow Maryland’s example of finding viable and progressive solutions for keeping more families in their homes.”

Several other panelists spoke at the briefing as well. Vicki Bott, deputy assistant secretary for single family programs at HUD reviewed the recent changes to HAMP proposed by the Obama Administration. Chad Williams, executive director of the Coalition for Homeownership Preservation, spoke about the increased role of housing counselors across the region. Several HOPE LoanPort board members, including Chairman William Longbrake; a NeighborWorks America district director and three mortgage servicer representatives rounded out the panel. HOPE LoanPort currently has eight mortgage servicers and more than 100 non-profit counseling organizations across the country committed to its program.

The servicers signed on to HOPE LoanPort include American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., Bayview Loan Servicing, Chase, GMAC, Ocwen, PNC Mortgage, Saxon Mortgage Services and Suntrust Mortgage Inc.

For more information, visit www.HopeNow.com.