Group helps more stay in homes last month
WASHINGTON - US mortgage servicing companies helped a record 181,000 homeowners avert foreclosure in June by changing loan terms or setting up repayment plans, according to an industry survey.
The Hope Now Alliance, a coalition of servicers, counselors, and investors, has helped an estimated 1.9 million homeowners stay in their houses since July 2007, the Washington based group said yesterday.
"All workouts are intended to be permanent solutions for allowing people to keep their homes," Faith Schwartz, Hope Now's executive director, said yesterday on a conference call with reporters.
The voluntary group, formed last October at the urging of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, has been criticized by lawmakers including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and regulators such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Sheila Bair for not moving fast enough to help homeowners facing foreclosure. 