HOPE NOW, a Washington, D.C.-headquartered national alliance created to maximize and expand outreach efforts to aid at-risk homeowners, has released a statement of principles that outlines the alliance's specific commitments.
By agreeing to the statement of principles, HOPE NOW members pledged to attempt contact with at-risk borrowers 120 days, at a minimum, prior to the initial adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) reset on all 2-28 and 3-27 products, as well as to inform borrowers of the potential increase in payment and terms of the loan in an effort to determine if the borrower may face financial difficulty keeping his mortgage current.
In addition, alliance members agreed to establish a single port of entry for all participant counselors to use by January 2008 and to make available dedicated e-mail and/or fax connectivity to support counselor and consumer intake by January 2008.
"All the alliance members already have substantial programs underway designed to help identify and assist at-risk borrowers," says Jonathan L. Kempner, president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "Today's announcement will help bring more consistency and uniformity to the process in order to better and more easily help more consumers."
