HomeFree-USA Opens Free Walk-in Center for Delinquent Borrowers with Freddie Mac Loans

Thursday, January 28, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 28, 2010
CONTACTS:
BRAD GERMAN, FREDDIE MAC
(703) 903-2437
brad_german@freddiemac.com

MARCIA GRIFFIN, HOMEFREE-USA
(202) 285-5853
marciaghfusa@msn.com

HOMEFREE-USA OPENS FREE WALK-IN CENTER FOR DELINQUENT BORROWERS WITH FREDDIE MAC LOANS
New Center to Hold “Foreclosure Intervention Fridays” for Distressed Borrowers

McLean, VA . . . Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) and HomeFree-USA today announced the opening of a new walk-in Borrower Help Center where delinquent borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages can get free, confidential ‘holistic’ financial counseling and one-on-one help to obtain a mortgage modification from their lenders.

The new Borrower Help Center in Hyattsville, MD is part of a new national pilot program to provide holistic financial counseling to borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages who are in financial distress and may be eligible for a loan modification but never called their mortgage servicers or have stopped trying. Holistic counseling addresses borrower debt and credit issues that could affect their ability to make mortgage payments after a modification.

Over the next five weeks the HomeFree-USA Borrower Help Center will host a series of special Foreclosure Intervention Fridays. Homeowners with Freddie Mac-owned loans are invited to attend these free events where they can meet with a counselor and get the help they need.

“These centers are designed to help borrowers who want to save their homes from foreclosure but need a strong and reliable guide to navigate the workout process,” said Dwight Robinson, Senior Vice President for Corporate Relations and Community Outreach at Freddie Mac. “"We are working with HomeFree-USA because they have the proven expertise and community trust to save homes, build lender and borrower confidence and to restore the financial viability of homeowners going thru this process.

“HomeFree-USA is thrilled to be a Borrower Help Center,” said HomeFree-USA President, Marcia Griffin. “Borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned loans now have an additional means for accessing help with their mortgages. The Borrower Help Center will help many, many homeowners to regain their financial footing.”

A recent NeighborWorks America study says borrowers who receive holistic counseling from reputable non-profit groups are 60 percent more likely to avoid foreclosure than other borrowers.

Contacting the HomeFree-USA Borrower Help Center

The HomeFree-USA Borrower Help Center is located at 3401A East West Highway Hyattsville, MD 20782. For more information or to register for Foreclosure Intervention Friday, call 301-891-4606 (English) or 301-891-4607 (Spanish).

In addition to hosting Foreclosure Intervention Fridays, HomeFree USA will be contacting potential eligible borrowers identified by Freddie Mac for free one-on-one appointments. Delinquent borrowers with Freddie Mac owned mortgages can also schedule free appointments by walking in to the center.

Counselors at the Borrower Help Center are trained to review Freddie Mac and Making Home Affordable workout requirements with their clients. Counselors will also provide one-on-one guidance to help borrowers apply for modifications, supply missing information or documents needed to move an application forward, and work with Home Retention Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Lender Services, Inc., to help borrowers effectively connect with their servicers.

Counselors will also work with the borrowers on other outstanding debt and credit issues, such as credit card debts or auto loans that may also be causing financial distress.

Freddie Mac is opening up similar Borrower Help Centers in Chicago, Phoenix, and California’s Inland Empire. Freddie Mac is also launching a separate Borrower Help Network where participating non-profit organizations will provide similar free holistic financial counseling by phone to targeted Freddie Mac borrowers across the nation. (For more information, visit freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure)

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

HomeFree-USA is a HUD-approved nonprofit, public benefit, homeownership and foreclosure prevention organization. The HomeFree-USA nationwide network of 66 faith- and community-based nonprofit partners represents 1.5 million homeowners and homebuyers. More than 25,000 homeowners have been helped to prevent foreclosure since 2008. Today, HomeFree-USA enjoys a remarkable 0% foreclosure rate among families that participate in its pre- and post-purchase counseling programs. Learn more, visit http://www.homefreeusa.org/.

In 2009 Freddie Mac helped nearly 250,000 borrowers avoid foreclosure through loan modifications, forbearances, repayment plans and other workouts, including modifications under Making Home Affordable. Freddie Mac accounts for nine percent of all seriously delinquent mortgages, but finances almost 23 percent of America’s residential mortgages.

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