Governor Martin O’Malley and Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown released data in the form of a StateStat Update on foreclosure prevention outreach efforts in Maryland:

• Through the first six months of 2009, approximately 18,112 foreclosure filings occurred in Maryland.
• Compared with 17,625 filings for the same period last year, this represents a growth of about 2.8 percent.
• In Maryland, MDHOPE counselors have aided nearly 23,000 consumers and helped more than 6,800 homeowners avoid foreclosure.

In partnership with the Maryland Bar Association, the Pro BonoResourceCenter, and Civil Justice, State agencies have trained attorneys to assist

• More than 700 attorneys have volunteers to be part of the Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project and are helping homeowners at workshops, assisting with individual cases, and advising nonprofit housing counseling agencies.
• The HOPE hotline has fielded more than 25,000 calls since being established in 2008.
• The Homesaver Program and the Bridge to Hope loan program have collectively granted 152 loans for a total of $27,761,061 in assistance.
• The Neighborhood Stabilization Program, funded initially with over $46 million, will created 450 affordable workforce housing opportunities while mitigating vacant, foreclosure and abandoned properties.

And the State’s fraud investigation efforts have helped identify, prosecute, and prevent scams and other threats to consumer housing.

• Since February 2009, the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation has more than 80 active investigations underway and recovered more than $600,000 in response to mortgage complaints, including monies recovered from loan modification scams used to prey on vulnerable homeowners facing foreclosure.

In November 2008, Governor O’Malley announced agreements with six mortgage servicing companies to create a streamlined and transparent loss mitigation process for distressed Maryland homeowners.

• Together, these companies service 23 percent of home loans in Maryland.
• The agreements are part of the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s comprehensive efforts to combat what has become the worst housing crisis the nation has seen since the Great Depression.

In 2007, Governor O’Malley created the Homeownership Preservation Task Force to find ways to address the crisis and to make recommendations that would help promote and preserve homeownership.Maryland’s comprehensive strategy includes:

• Emergency regulations, extending the amount of time available to homeowners to seek counseling and find alternatives to foreclosure.
• Creation of the Lifeline, Homesaver and the Bridge to Hope programs to help homeowners who are stuck with exotic, expensive and in some cases fraudulent loans.
• The creation of a pro-bono attorney network that has enlisted more than 700 volunteer lawyers to aid at-risk homeowners.
• The establishment of a framework of operations with six servicers to ensure the highest quality of service to homeowners seeking loan modifications or alternatives to foreclosure.
• The investment of significant resources into a statewide network of counseling agencies, giving homeowners access to free, reliable information about alternatives to foreclosure and resources to help them avoid it. DHCD supports a statewide network of 30 nonprofit housing counseling agencies and two nonprofit legal services providers as part of its Home Ownership Preserving Equity (HOPE) initiative. In a June 2009 report, NeighborWorks recognized Maryland as being in the top five states in serving the most clients through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program.
• The distribution of more than $5.5 million in federal, state and local funds to MDHOPE network members since 2007. Assistance providers have aided nearly 23,000 consumers and helped more than 6,800 homeowners avoid foreclosure.
• The launch of the “Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait” advertising campaign to direct beleaguered families to the counseling agencies as early in the foreclosure process as possible. This includes the establishment of the HOPE Hotline, 1-877-462-7555 and the HOPE Web Site,www.mdhope.org.
• The allocation of more than $18.9 million in federal funds through Maryland’s Neighborhood Conservation Initiative to help local jurisdictions stabilize communities hardest hit by the foreclosure and sub-prime lending crisis.

Tags: Maryland Foreclosures

Posted in Foreclosure, Foreclosures, Historical Perspective, Market Trending | No Comments