Mortgage Investors to Chip In for Homeowners' Counseling

Washington Post (06/12/08) P. D3; Merle, Renae
Mortgage investors will spend millions of dollars over the next two years to expand counseling for households that are facing late payments on their home loans, according to Tom Deutsch, deputy executive director of the American Securitization Forum, the trade group behind the move. The HOPE NOW Alliance is adopting guidelines for payments of up to $150 per counseling session, and nonprofit agencies can receive more if the coaching leads to a favorable outcome for the lender. "This is a great way to prevent foreclosures, to be connected with counselors," says Hope Now executive director Faith Schwartz.