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July 14, 2011

$1 Billion EHLP Deadline Ends July 22nd 2011

Deadline to Apply for $1 Billion Federal Government Program to Help Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Ends in One Week, Warns the Homeownership Preservation Foundation...
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June 30, 2011

Unemployed Homeowners Have Just Three More Weeks to Apply for Financial Aid via Federal Government's $1 Billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, Urges The Homeownership Preservation Foundation

..."For homeowners that stay in the home five years after receiving EHLP assistance, the debt is essentially forgiven. They don't have to pay the government back." "The clock is ticking, however, as the July 22nd deadline is just three weeks away. Interested homeowners do need to call us today."
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June 21, 2011

Homeownership Preservation Foundation to Help Unemployed Homeowners Secure Mortgage Payment Relief via $1 Billion Government Program Ending September 15

Homeowners with Significant Income Reduction Due to Involuntary Unemployment, Underemployment, or Medical Condition Can Apply for HUD Forgivable Loan Program...
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Jun 23, 2011

Mortgage Counseling Benefits Validated by Four Independent Research Studies, Reports Homeownership Preservation Foundation

Data Presented by Harvard University, The Urban Institute, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and National Council on Aging Confirms Homeowners Benefit...
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May 26, 2011

A Funding Cut that Mortgage Scam Artists Would Love

Despite the continuing crisis, some in Congress want to cut funding for mortgage counseling for distressed homeowners. The considerable amount of misinformation currently circulating as to the merits of counseling is a key driver of this misguided proposal. So, let's examine who benefits from the process — and who will benefit if funding for counseling is eliminated...
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May 25, 2011

California accounts for nearly 25 percent of suspected foreclosure rescue scams reported to national hotline

Since February of last year, HPF has operated a specialty unit of their Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline (888-995-HOPE), a resource for financially distressed homeowners. The unit focuses on those who believe they have been victimized by a scam or have been approached by someone offering related services they suspect are fraudulent. Some 22 percent of the calls came from California, far and away dwarfing activity reported in Florida, which ranked second and accounted for seven percent of the calls. Texas and New York ranked third with five percent, followed by Georgia with four percent.
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May 25, 2011

African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians comprise nearly half of mortgage loan modification scam victims, HPF Hotline finds

Nearly half the victims of mortgage loan modification scams are of African-American, Hispanic, or Asian descent, according to statistics released today by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), an independent national nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges and avoid mortgage foreclosure since 2004. Nearly one-in-four of the possibly fraudulent scams reported were in California.
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April 18, 2011

HUD Empowers Homeowners to Recognize, Avoid and Report Scams

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is launching a new campaign in Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles called Know It. Avoid It. Report It. This campaign has two objectives. First, it aims to direct homeowners facing foreclosure to trusted resources and housing counselors. Second, and more importantly, the campaign wants to solicit the support of homeowners in shutting down scammers who regularly target the elderly, Hispanics, and African Americans. Both objectives will be pursued through education and outreach, anti-scam reporting tools, and close cooperation with federal, state, local, and non-profit partners..
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March 6, 2011

Consumers Value the Guidance of a Trusted Independent Ally

Statement by Colleen Hernandez, CEO, Homeownership Preservation Foundation
While there is little agreement from various sectors about what caused the current housing crisis or what will solve it, there is nearly unanimous agreement that consumers, in order to resolve their issues, need to reach out for help, to understand their situation, to navigate a course through the mortgage maze, to be in touch with their servicers, and to make the changes in their lifestyles and their budgets in order to stay in their homes.
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March 3, 2011

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Appoints Homeownership Advocate Bruce Gottschall to Board of Directors

Gottschall has worked in the fields of housing and community development throughout his career, most notably as one of the original founders of Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago, serving as Executive Director of NHS from its inception in 1975 until his retirement in 2009. During his tenure, NHS financed 29,000 units of housing, loaned $500 million in 18,000 loans and leveraged more that $1.1 billion in neighborhood investment while serving 181,000 clients. Under his leadership, NHS of Chicago partnered with the City of Chicago to establish NHS’s Home Ownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI), which became a national partnership model in preventing foreclosures....
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February 17, 2011

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Appoints Dr. Christopher Herbert to Board of Directors

Dr. Herbert has more than two decades of experience conducting research related to housing policy, housing markets, housing finance and urban development. In recent years, Dr. Herbert’s work has had a particular focus on efforts to promote and maintain homeownership for low-income and minority families.
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February 16, 2011

Homeownership Preservation Foundation is Sole Recipient of $1 Million HUD Grant to Increase Awareness, Assist Victims of Foreclosure Rescue Scams

HPF Also Awarded $1.72 Million to Support Housing Counseling Services

The prestigious MMSA grant will enable HPF, through its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline, to continue as the primary ‘call to action’ for HUD’s anti-scam campaign to educate and warn distressed homeowners about foreclosure prevention and loan modification scammers...
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February 14, 2011

Federal Reserve Appoints Josh Fuhrman to Consumer Advisory Council

Homeownership Preservation Foundation VP to Serve Three-year Term

Mr. Fuhrman will serve a three-year term on the 30-member CAC, which convenes three times a year to advise the Board on issues related to consumers, communities and the financial services industry...
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January 24, 2011

Why Make the Call? What You Need to Know About Foreclosure Prevention Counseling and the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline

By Colleen Hernandez, CEO, Homeownership Preservation Foundation

With millions of distressed homeowners throughout the U.S. facing financial challenges, receiving housing counseling can mean the difference between hopelessness and preserving their stake in homeownership.
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December 28, 2010

The following letter to the editor by HPF CEO Colleen Hernandez was published by American Banker, 12/28/2010

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November 30, 2010

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Reports Call Volume for October from Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) received 125,248 calls in October from distressed homeowners, a 14.2 percent decrease from September, which had the highest call volume year to date. October call volume was seven percent higher than calls received during the same period in 2009. The states with the largest call volume in October were California, Florida, New York, Texas and Georgia, the same call volume ranking as in September.
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October 26, 2010

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Reports Call Volume for September from Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) received 145,993 calls in September from distressed homeowners, a three percent increase from the previous month. Call volume to the hotline increased 7.4 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter. The states with the largest call volumes in September were California, Florida, New York, Texas and Georgia.
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October 13, 2010

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Provides Assistance, Six Warning Signs of Foreclosure Scams to Prevent Homeowners Falling Prey to Rip-offs

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), which provides information and financial education to guide consumers toward the path of sustainable homeownership, is alerting homeowners to resources that will help them avoid being victimized by unscrupulous companies conducting mortgage loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams.
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September 22, 2010

4 Million Homeowners Dial 888-995-HOPE for Help Avoiding Foreclosure

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), which provides information and financial education to guide consumers toward the path of sustainable homeownership, announces today that it has helped over four million distressed homeowners through its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline (1-888-995-HOPE). Since the financial crisis began in 2008, homeowners have called the Hotline seeking guidance and information about how to avoid foreclosure.
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July 28, 2010

Statement by Colleen Hernandez, CEO, Homeownership Preservation Foundation Regarding the National PSA Campaign to Raise Awareness of the Making Home Affordable Program

“The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), which was designated as the Making Home Affordable Program call-center in 2009, is pleased to be able to assist the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the call to action for these timely and very important PSAs,” said Colleen Hernandez, CEO of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation.
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June 24, 2010

Homeownership Preservation Foundation Names VantageScore Solutions President/CEO Barrett Burns to Board

VantageScore Solutions President and Chief Executive Barrett Burns has joined the board of directors of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HFP), a national non-profit organization dedicated to reducing foreclosures and preserving homeownership in the United States.
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October 28, 2009

888-995-HOPE™ Hotline to Help Victims of Loan Modification Scams

October 28, 2009 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) today announced that its Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline, 888-995-HOPE™, has been selected as the point of contact for homeowners seeking assistance, protection and information on loan modification scams.
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August 17, 2009