The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), which administers the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline 1-888-995-HOPE to provide free, comprehensive homeownership education and foreclosure prevention counseling, received 125,248 calls in October from distressed homeowners, a 14.2 percent decrease from September, which had the highest call volume year to date. October call volume was seven percent higher than calls received during the same period in 2009. The states with the largest call volume in October were California, Florida, New York, Texas and Georgia, the same call volume ranking as in September.
“We have seen fluctuations in call volume over time, often related to the number of foreclosures, which decreased last month. The number of U.S. homes seized by banks decreased by more than a third in October after loan servicers imposed a moratorium to probe whether repossessions were properly conducted, according to a leading research firm,” said Colleen Hernandez, chief executive officer of the HPF. “We encourage homeowners who are at risk to call the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline as early as possible, despite the status of any moratorium, in order to stay on top of their mortgage situation. More options are available if homeowners call at the first sign of trouble, and more than 70 percent of distressed homeowners remain in their homes a year after counseling.”
Callers to the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline, staffed by more than 600 U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counselors, have the option to participate in HPF’s five-step counseling process, geared to help them deal with the reality of their entire financial situation and move toward sustainable homeownership, and if possible, to provide an opportunity to work with their servicer to avoid foreclosure. HPF counseling employs a holistic approach to help with mortgage, lifestyle and debt issues. HPF also provides a comprehensive financial education online toolbox for homeowners at http://www.995hope.org that includes:
►26 Financial Education Videos: Cover topics ranging from scams to the counseling process to foreclosure options, such as refinancing, loan modification and short sale. There is also an option that allows users to view all 26 of these videos in Spanish.
►Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline Guide to Saving Money: A series of tip sheets with money saving ideas for utility bills, grocery shopping, holiday shopping, dining out and more.
►Glossary: A comprehensive glossary of terms to help consumers navigate through the language of homeownership.
►External Resource Links: A one-stop repository of links to government agencies and other resources for homeowners facing foreclosure
Highlights of October call data to 1-888-995-HOPE
►Total calls in October 2010: 125,248
►Total calls year to date: 1,327,765
Greatest total call volume in October 2010 (top five states):
►California 23,622
►Florida 10,799
►New York 8,105
►Texas 6,532
►Georgia 5,903
Largest percentage decrease in calls among the 10 states with largest call volume from September to October 2010:
►Michigan -23.8%
►Florida –22.7%
►Arizona -21.6%
►Georgia -15.3%
►Texas -14.6%
Smallest percentage decrease in calls from September to October 2010:
►Iowa -1.6%
►Delaware -3.7%
►California -4.4%
►New Hampshire -5.4%
►Arkansas -7.8%
For more information, visit www.995hope.org.
