Free Foreclosure Prevention Services Are Nearby

ESOP Board President, Inez Killingsworth and CEO, Larry Litton, of Litton Loan Servicing signing ESOP/Litton fair lending agreement.

The latest economic statistics indicate that an increasing number of Ohio families are experiencing mortgage difficulties as the rate of home foreclosures continues to grow in our area and beyond.

In 2007, the Lakewood community had 692 homes in foreclosure. That means 692 families were at risk for losing their homes. Recent data from Case Western Reserve University’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development reports that 646 Lakewood homeowners are at risk of being foreclosed in 2009.

These foreclosed properties – once called homes – become vacant, and invite crime and deterioration into our neighborhoods.

Many homeowners try to negotiate workable arrangements directly with their lenders, but find it difficult if not impossible to reach timely, affordable solutions on their own. The State of Ohio’s “Save the Dream” hotline recommends, instead, that homeowners in need of foreclosure help use the free services that are available through one of the state’s non-profit HUD-approved housing counseling agencies.

Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (ESOP) is the most successful of these state-approved agencies, and is located nearby in downtown Cleveland. The organization has fought on behalf of homeowners for more than a decade on predatory lending and mortgage issues.

ESOP provides free foreclosure prevention services to homeowners by negotiating directly with their lenders to modify mortgages and reach affordable solutions that enable families to keep their homes.

Using community organizing, ESOP has negotiated their Hot Spot Card process with over a dozen different lenders and servicers, which provides an 85% success rate to homeowners who follow through with the process.

Last year alone, the organization helped almost 3,000 Ohio families save their homes, and expects to double that number this year.

For more information on how to save your home, ESOP can be reached at 216-361-0718 or online at www.esop-cleveland.org.

Remember, ESOP’s services are FREE. Help is nearby and just a phone call away.