July-September 2006

Associated Press

“State to start hot line for homeowners with payment problems”

Colorado plans to open a counseling hot line next month to help residents who are trying to keep up with mortgage payments and prevent houses from falling into foreclosure.

Representatives from 30 nonprofit agencies that specialize in housing advice will staff the hot line, which is being announced amid a growing problem with foreclosures. Two online companies that monitor the housing industry ranked Colorado first in the nation for foreclosures in August.

Hot line counselors will offer assistance with financing and work with lenders to help homeowners keep their homes.

''The big problem we have and lenders have is that once a person gets behind on their mortgage, they stop taking calls from their lender and they don't answer the phone anymore and then they move out in the middle of the night,'' Kathi Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing said.

The state will open the hot line next month but the start date and the telephone number have yet to be announced.

The state has allocated $250,000 to start the hot line and will get contributions of $30,000 from the Colorado Association of Realtors and $5,000 from JP Morgan Chase.

The Denver Post

“Help for struggling homeowners”

September 20, 2006

Colorado , which leads the nation in foreclosures, will soon launch a hotline to provide struggling homeowners with valuable help.

Colorado will launch a hotline next month to connect struggling homeowners with counselors who can help them avoid foreclosure.

The new service comes amid a foreclosure epidemic in Colorado. The state has led the nation in mortgage-default rates for six months, according to industry monitor RealtyTrac. In August, one of every 301 households in Colorado were in foreclosure.

Thirty nonprofit housing counseling agencies across the state will participate in the hotline. Their counselors help homeowners assess their finances and negotiate with lenders to keep their houses. The state is trying to get lenders to help fund the hotline and to work closely with the counselors