Report Shows Heating and Utility Needs Among Issues Facing American Homeowners

MortgageKeeper Referral Services, developer of a Web-based app that connects struggling homeowners with qualified non-profit and government agencies, has released its third quarter 2011 Homeowner Needs Status Report. The report showed that homeowners received from MortgageKeeper nearly 224,000 referrals between July and September 2011—the most referrals ever requested. Utility assistance was the most requested category for help (15 percent of referrals). Food assistance (13 percent) and employment services (12 percent) rounded out the top three most needed services. "The number of homeowners in financial trouble keeps rising, and local assistance is the best, most reliable means of help," said Rochelle Nawrocki Gorey, president of MortgageKeeper Referral Services. "MortgageKeeper is one way mortgage servicers and housing counselors can find help for struggling homeowners and for individuals transitioning out of their homes." Counselors and servicers who subscribe to MortgageKeeper's database provide struggling homeowners with a list of exhaustively researched, best-in-class non-profit and government agencies in seconds. Often the agencies are located just a few miles from the homeowner. "Homeowners in the South are facing high electric bills from the summer heat wave, and some families up North are still paying off bills from last winter," said Gorey. "Their heating, cooling, and water costs are skyrocketing, and show no signs of dropping." MortgageKeeper Referral Services assists more than 2,000 families find answers and assistance every day. Subscribers include Saxon Mortgage Services, Ocwen Loan Servicing, and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation's 888.995.HOPE hotline. MortgageKeeper connects individuals in financial distress to reputable community services. Borrowers with access to outside resources have additional opportunities to cure default, benefiting the homeowner, servicers, and investors.