Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is teaming up with St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center to give homeowners information about help tapping into available mortgage relief and preventing foreclosure.
The workshop, one in a series, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 5401 Loch Raven Blvd.
Individuals who borrowed home loans through the country's five largest mortgage lenders -- Ally/GMAC, Bank of America/Countrywide, Citi, JPMorgan Chase & Co./Washington Mutual or Wells Fargo/Wachovia -- may qualify for relief.
The relief is provided from the $25 billion national mortgage settlement between those five lenders and 49 state attorneys general. The case involved claims that the servicers mistreated borrowers by signing off on foreclosure documents without necessarily having the facts of individual situations straight. (Fast fact: The mortgage settlement is the largest multi-state settlement since the big tobacco case in 1998.)
Maryland's share of the relief is about $957 million.
The workshop is also designed to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
Here is what the workshop will offer, according to Gansler's office:
- Guidance for homeowners facing default who may qualify for loan modification, including a possible principal reduction
- Help refinancing loans for borrowers current on their payments whose homes are worth less than they owe
- Assistance determining whether those who lost their home to foreclosure are eligible for up to $2,000
- Information on new bank servicing standards
- One-on-one advice from housing counselors and lawyers
For more information on the workshop, call 410-576-6956.
The attorney general has scheduled workshops through the end of August, including one set for Randallstown on July 31.
If you can't make one of the workshops, check out this list to find a local foreclosure prevention counselor.
ywenger@baltsun.comTwitter.com/yvonnewenger
