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The government-sponsored enterprises are circumventing mortgage servicers in an effort to step up workouts of distressed home loans.
January 28
The first in a series of Fannie Mae-branded mortgage help centers has opened in Miami, the government-sponsored enterprise announced Monday.
The Fannie Mae Mortgage Help Center seeks to help struggling borrowers who have mortgages owned by the GSE.
"These face-to-face meetings will help borrowers better understand the entire range of foreclosure prevention options and work closely with servicers to achieve a prompt response," Fannie Mae said in a press release. It has a partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida, which is providing two counselors as well as guidance and marketing assistance. In total, the center is being staffed by five employees, but this roster could be expanded, Fannie Mae said.
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have worked with nonprofits around the country to counsel borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments but who have not contacted their servicers or who have given up on fixing things. Fannie Mae, however, is the first to set up a help center with its own employees.
It said it expects to open soon an unspecified number of centers in other regions of the country.
