Since 2008 the Homeownership Preservation Foundation has provided information and financial education to over four million distressed homeowners who dialed the Homeowner's HOPE Hotline asking for help on how to avoid foreclosure.
The Homeowner's HOPE Hotline has received over 122,000 calls per month in 2010, or over 5,500 calls from homeowners each day. The Hotline received 1.77 million calls in 2009 and 1.3 million calls in 2008.
It has helped that the nonprofit's free hotline offers counseling services every day of the year for 24 hours and in over 170 languages.
HPF also provides online financial education to homeowners who lack basic information needed to build and maintain good credit, develop a budget, buy a home, and be prepared for the full costs of sustainable homeownership.
And, according to a HPF spokesperson, since economists estimate that close to four million more homeowners may face delinquency in the near future, that assistance is expected to come in handy.
HPF surveys of hotline users show that 86% percent of the homeowners who called were able to better understand their options after talking with a counselor.
In addition, through a partnership with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, private investors, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and NeighborWorks America, HPF has helped build an efficient bridge between homeowners and their lender-servicers.
HPF reports that even though as a rule distressed homeowners find it difficult to obtain information and assistance from their servicers, up to 50% of the HPF callers surveyed said they made direct contact with their servicer with the help of Hotline counselors. Another 34% said their servicer was more engaged in the workout process after borrowers had been counseled.
HPF founder and chairman of the board Bruce Paradis sees these data as "a strong indication" that distressed homeowners find it easier to contact independent, third-party, foreclosure prevention counselors.
