Daily Real Estate News  |  August 12, 2008  |   Associations Team Up for Foreclosure Workshop
Help is on the way for New England home owners struggling to pay their mortgage. Today, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, in partnership with the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, is taking part in a regional foreclosure prevention workshop in the Boston area.

The event, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., from 1–8 p.m., targets area home owners with subprime loans or borrowers who are in financial distress and concerned about foreclosure. Home owners will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 20 national mortgage lenders, local housing counselors, and REALTORS® to help resolve mortgage issues and avoid foreclosure.

“Any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many," says NAR President Richard F. Gaylord. Real estate professionals can help struggling home owners by helping them finding information, resources, and responsible lenders to help them stay in their home, Gaylord says.

At the event, MAR will provide consumers with information on preventing foreclosure and avoiding predatory lending. MAR will also be holding information sessions to help consumers learn more about loss mitigation options like short sales or auctions, as well as options and resources available if borrowers do lose their home.

“Often the first person a home owner calls when they are having financial problems with their home is their REALTOR®,” says 2008 MAR President Susan Renfrew, broker/co-owner of Renfrew Real Estate in Greenfield. “It is because of those types of relationships that the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® has been working hard to ensure the membership understands the issues around foreclosure and that they have the tools to help their clients achieve the best possible outcome.”

More than 1,000 residents are expected to attend the event, which is jointly sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. Other major event sponsors include HOPE NOW Alliance and NeighborWorks^® America. More information on the Foreclosure Prevention Workshop is available at www.theinformedhomebuyer.org.

Home owners concerned about the possibility of foreclosure can also access NAR’s foreclosure brochure, Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home, at www.realtor.org/subprime or MAR’s brochure, Protecting Your Investment, Understanding Home Financing and Avoiding Foreclosure, at www.marealtor.com.

Source: NAR