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Fannie Mae Unveils Website to Assist Distressed Homeowners
Fannie Mae has unrolled a newrninteractive website designed to educate and assist homeowners who arernstruggling with their mortgage payments. rnThe site, KnowYourOptions.com, outlines the choicesrnavailable to homeowners and provides guidance on how they can contact and workrnwith a mortgage company to find solutions.</p
Persons working in the arearnof foreclosure prevention often find it difficult to even get in touch withrndelinquent borrowers. At a conference onrnforeclosure policy sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago late last year,rnSendhil Mullainathan of Harvard University said that counseling andrnmodification programs must be designed to reflect the knowledge that borrowersrntend to avoid contact with their lenders and servicers and recommended that policyrnefforts focus on finding and getting services to these homeowners before thernbanks can foreclose. </p
Whether the creators of thernFannie Mae website attended the conference or not, their site show an intent tornbe an unthreatening, even a warm and fuzzy place to obtain information andrnassistance in an easy-to-understand format and, probably most important, anonymously.rn</p
Key features of the website,rnwhich can be accessed in either English or Spanish, include:</p<ul
A friendly virtual guidernwalks visitors through the site, frequently reminding them that is is importantrnto contact their lender as soon as possible if they are having difficulties andrnguiding them through decision points. rnAre you behind in your mortgage? Ifrnnot, the visitor is directed to information on refinancing. If yes and the problem is short term the siternpresents alternatives for repayment. If the homeowner feels his problem arernlong term he is walked through options for staying in the house through a loanrnmodification or Fannie Mae's Deed-for-LeaseTM program or getting the problemrnbehind him with an explanation of the differences between foreclosure, shortrnsale, and deed-in-lieu. </p
The options are fully andrnclearly explained and there are videos to drive home important points. For example, one video features three loanrncounselors telling borrowers to evaluate their ability to perform under any proposedrnrepayment program. The site's interactivity is emphasized by several short visitorrnsurveys sprinkled through the pages. The site also has a glossary, a primer onrnforeclosure fraud, and contact information for major lenders.</p
Jeff Hayward, Senior VicernPresident, Fannie Mae's National Servicing Organization said, “There arerndifferent answers for different situations and this site can be an importantrntool in the toolbox for borrowers trying to do the right thing. This initiativerndraws on the insights and feedback garnered through Fannie Mae's work withrnthousands of lender partners and housing counselors across the country, andrnwill help connect borrowers with the servicing and counseling professionalsrnthey need to reach resolution. Our hope is that this site can be a trustedrnsource of free information for borrowers and industry participants alike.” </p
The company plans tornimplement a comprehensive marketing outreach campaign to raise awareness aboutrnthe site, and also intends to use the site as a vehicle to roll out new optionsrnfor borrowers that are currently being developed.
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Steven A Feinberg (@CPAsteve) of Appletree Business Services LLC, is a PASBA member accountant located in Londonderry, New Hampshire.
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