Chase Plans Foreclosure-Prevention Events In Eight Markets

By MortgageOrb.com on Thursday 06 May 2010

Chase says it will host multi-day homeowner assistance events for struggling Chase homeowners in eight major U.S. markets this year. The events complement 51 Chase Homeownership Centers that the company has opened throughout the country.

"We have increased borrower participation dramatically by concentrating our reach-out efforts and bringing together dozens of Chase loan counselors for several days," says Dave Lowman, head of home lending at Chase.

Over the next five months, up to 40 Chase counselors will work with homeowners for as long as 12 hours a day for four or five days in a central location, such as a civic center or community college.

Many of the counselors are based in the company’s homeownership centers, which Chase began opening in early 2009 to provide face-to-face counseling to homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgages. The centers are open six days a week, including evening hours.

Chase began the multi-day events in Florida, where counselors met with 3,200 customers. Half of the homeowners spoke with counselors in less than 10 minutes, and a total of 85% waited no more than 30 minutes before speaking one-on-one with a counselor, the company says. Nearly three-quarters of the customers said their experience was excellent, while another 12% said it was very good.

"The centers have provided personalized help to more than 91,000 borrowers, and we expect these events will help thousands more in just a few days,” Lowman says.

Chase plans to host events in the Chicago; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; New York; Northern and Southern California; Orlando, Fla.; and Phoenix markets.

Since 2009, Chase has hired 3,600 additional counselors, hosted and participated in nearly 475 outreach events, and mailed more than 1 million letters to invite customers to events and centers.