by SpringFour | Apr, 17, 2012 | Default
We know Financial Literacy Month is half over, but we couldn’t let the month go by without stressing how desperately it’s needed in today’s economy. The month of keen focus on how we should spend and save is sanctioned by our President and our Governor, and we wanted to spread the word, too.
In our business, we help folks who have already hit a significant financial speed bump. But we believe that good financial habits pay big dividends by helping folks avoid these bumps down the road.
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune agrees. It cites a program developed by Money Management International, a national credit counselor (and a MortgageKeeper client). Called “Thirty Steps,” it helps anyone who wants to learn more about money take the steps they need to build strong financial habits.
We’d like to see fewer folks need the help we provide. Financial literacy is the best way we can think of to accomplish this.
by SpringFour | Mar, 29, 2012 | Default
Imagine you are a struggling homeowner–barely making ends meet. (An all-too-common scenario these days.)
You have three bills to pay this month:
Credit cards
Mortgage
Car loan
You can only afford to pay one of them. Which one do you choose?
(Insert Jeopardy theme music here….)
According to a recent article in the Minneapolis StarTribune, 39% would choose to pay their car loan–even if they were delinquent on the mortgage. The article cites the need for transportation to look for or keep a job as the reasoning. Also credit cards put food on the table and gas in the tank when income is down or you’re out of work. Thankfully, homeowners have options to avoid the tough question we’ve posed above. Local nonprofits and government agencies (found via MortgageKeeper) offer help with job searches, food, prescription drug costs, and utilities. So homeowners can find the breathing room they need to perhaps stay current on more than just their car. Credit counseling can also help reduce debt payments and build a sustainable budget. We are proud to say that we help people find the resources they need to stay afloat. And we do it 2,700 times a day.
by SpringFour | Mar, 20, 2012 | Default
We see a lot of money tossed around to solve the housing crisis–sometimes to no avail. But HUD’s new approach made us stand up and cheer…$42M to housing counselors. And NFMC followed suit Monday.
Great news for distressed homeowners trying to find unbiased solutions!
In all fairness, we should state here that MortgageKeeper is used by some of this country’s largest counseling agencies to help their struggling clients. But we’ve partnered with them for years because we know counseling works…and works well. HUD has found that 9 of 10 troubled homeowners who receive housing counseling are still at the same address 18 months later.
They know what we know: housing counseling is a great investment.
by SpringFour | Mar, 8, 2012 | Default
We know that folks are struggling. When our database referrals jump from an average of 2,500 a day to 2,700 a day in just a few months, overall conditions aren’t improving. It can be hard to understand the magnitude of consumer debt and net worth issues.
Sometimes a picture can illustrate what words never can.
Our clients at CredAbility have a map that shows what they call their Consumer Distress Index. It measures the financial condition of the average U.S. household.
Let us summarize it for you. Unless you live in North Dakota, your state distress level is a best weak. Many states are at the “distressed” level. And the poor folks in Nevada? Emergency crisis level.
We see glimmers of hope around. From a realtor’s “SOLD” sign in our neighbor’s yard, to lower interest rates for mortgages, to the “winter that wasn’t” that’s sure to lower utility costs–times are a-changing. But with more people looking for help than ever before, we cross our fingers that things are changing for the better.
by SpringFour | Feb, 26, 2012 | Default
Just in time for the Mortgage Bankers Association Servicing Conference, and to drive our poor stats guy crazy, we ran the MortgageKeeper Homeowner Needs Status Report for the first half of Q1. This report tells us how much our data is being used, and the top needs of the struggling homeowners using our services.
We were pretty blown away by the numbers.
Requests for help on a daily basis? 2,700. That’s up 25% from last year’s average.
118,235 referral requests have been received. That’s 17% of all referrals received in 2011.
The top 5 referral categories–the types of help who are struggling seem to need most–is virtually unchanged: (1) housing and credit counseling requests, (2) utility assistance, (3) employment help, (4) food assistance, and (5) affordable rental housing.
So perhaps in some areas foreclosures are dropping. Perhaps the consumer confidence levels are improving. But our stats show that those in financial trouble are turning to local help more and more to find the basics like food, housing, work, and counseling.
What do you think of our top referral categories? Any surprises? Let us know.
by SpringFour | Dec, 29, 2011 | Default
Yes. We admit it.
The MortgageKeeper team has had a long love affair with foreclosure counseling. Some our best clients are counseling agencies. And some of us have even been counselors ourselves.
Unbiased on this subject, we are not.
So don’t be surprised that we are issuing a loud “amen” to a recent article from DSNews. It highlights a NeighborWorks America study saying that counseling lowers redefault rates–that folks counseled through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program are more than 67% more likely to be current on their loans 9 months after loan modification.
Now, the usual argument against counseling is that it is a costly way to save struggling homeowners. But if a homeowner gets out of default quickly and remains on track afterwards…isn’t it worth the costs involved?
The combination of a personal touch + access to local resources is a one-two punch that helps to develop a sustainable household budget for struggling homeowners–the first step to staying in a home and staying current on a loan.
This seems to be worth supporting.
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