NFCC Steps Up Consumer Counceling
 To Address Rising Homeowner Foreclosure Crisis:
 Immediate Assistance Through Hotline
 

Recent Government Data Shows, Among Counseling Sessions with Known Outcomes, more than 93 Percent of NFCC Clients Receiving Assistance Avoid Foreclosure*

Silver Spring, MD - The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has stepped up its counseling and education efforts in communities across the country to assist homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes. The NFCC network of nonprofit, community-based agencies has nearly 1,000 offices and more than 1,200 certified housing counselors who are ready to assist consumers avoid foreclosure now.

Consumers can receive immediate assistance by calling (866) 557-2227, an NFCC toll-free hotline that will connect them with an NFCC-certified housing counselor. Individuals in need can also receive assistance by finding an NFCC counselor online.

Recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows that counseling is an extremely effective way to help consumers facing foreclosure and improve communication between consumers and lenders. In FY 2006, 93.1 percent of NFCC clients within the HUD Intermediary who received housing counseling and for whom the NFCC has confirmed outcomes, avoided foreclosure.

"For many years, our network of trained and certified counselors has helped consumers avoid foreclosure," said Susan C. Keating, president and CEO of the NFCC. "In this country's current housing crisis, we are prepared to stand by consumers to provide assistance and do everything possible to keep them in their homes."

Facts about the current situation:

• Americans owe close to $13 trillion in mortgage debt.

• The number of foreclosed homes in the first six months of 2007 surged by 58 percent. That equals approximately 573,397 homes in danger.

• Most analysts predict that the condition will worsen through the end of the year, with 2.5 million first mortgages defaulting in 2007.

• Close to 50 percent of consumers whose homes face foreclosure never speak to their lender prior to foreclosure.

For more than 50 years the NFCC has provided consumers with sound financial advice as the recognized leader in financial education and counseling services, assisting more than two million consumers a year. Housing counseling is a core service of nearly all NFCC member agencies and most are HUD-approved housing counseling services.

The NFCC Board of Trustees convened this past week to initiate a plan that will further mobilize its membership to expand services for consumers in need while bringing together representatives from the private and public sectors to directly address the crisis and create a long-term housing strategy.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation's largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The NFCC's mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC members annually help two million consumers through nearly 1,000 community-based offices nationwide.