At-Risk Homeowners Urged to Attend 'Fix My Mortgage' - Largest Central Illinois, Free Foreclosure-Prevention Event, in Peoria, Saturday, Nov. 21

'Fix My Mortgage' event to offer free assistance with Loan Modifications and is sponsored by: Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., the Illinois Housing Development Authority and METEC's Housing Counseling Resource Center.

PEORIA & CENTRAL ILLINOIS, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Illinois homeowners at risk of foreclosure will receive free, on-site services and access to President Obama's loan modification program Saturday, November 21st, at PARC, 1913 W. Townline Road, in Peoria, at the "Fix My Mortgage" outreach event. The free event is sponsored by Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG), the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and METEC's Housing Counseling Resource Center.

Attending homeowners will receive FREE assistance from several dozen volunteer real estate attorneys and housing counselors to determine if they qualify for help under the Obama Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan known as "Making Home Affordable" http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov - the federal government's foreclosure-prevention assistance plan. Homeowners who qualify will complete and submit on Saturday a "Making Home Affordable" loan modification package that will help them modify their existing loans into affordable and sustainable fixed-rate mortgages. Bank of America and Chase will have representatives on site to do immediate loan modifications. Loan modification packages can be submitted to other mortgage lenders, as well.

Nearly 120,000 Illinois households were in some stage of foreclosure through the end of September 2009, a 46 percent increase compared to the same nine-month period in 2008 (according to data provided by RealtyTrac). Knox, Marshall and Woodford Counties saw increases in foreclosures of 752%, 350% and 253%, respectively, for the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Peoria and Tazewell Counties had 650 and 377 foreclosures, respectively - a decrease of 27 and 14 percent, respectively, for the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

"Our data shows there is a new wave of foreclosures that will hit in the coming year," explained Jerry Gorman, ATG's senior vice president, downstate operations. "'Fix My Mortgage' is a great opportunity for at-risk homeowners to get free help and possibly save their homes from foreclosure. ATG co-sponsored two similar events in Chicago, one in Cicero, and one in Madison, Wisc., in 2009 with great success."

"Fix My Mortgage" is targeting residents primarily from Peoria, Tazewell, Knox, Marshall, McLean, Stark and Woodford Counties.

GREAT INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:

• Area homeowners who reduced their mortgage payments by modifying their loans earlier this year and avoided foreclosure;
• Area homeowners who will attend the 11/21 event and can share why; and
• Volunteer real estate attorneys from Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) and housing experts from METEC who can discuss Saturday's event and share important foreclosure-prevention tips.
  

Financial Incentive

Homeowners who get a loan modification and make their payments on time are eligible for up to $1,000 of principal reduction payments each year for up to five years.

THOSE WHO QUALIFY:

Qualified homeowners include those who are owner/occupants of their home, have a loan that originated before January 1, 2009, and who have a mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance and association dues) that is more than 31 percent of their pre-tax income. Homeowners must have incomes that enable them to make ongoing payments. NOTE: Borrowers with VA loans, or who are receiving unemployment benefits, do not qualify. A list of all documents which participants are required to bring to the workshop is available at http://www.Metec1.org

The workshop is being held at PARC, 1913 W. Townline Road in Peoria, on Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. To pre-register for this event, call METEC at 309-676-3832.

METEC:

METEC is a Peoria-based Housing Counseling Resource Center (HCRC) and builds stability and wealth in the community by helping families and individuals obtain affordable housing through increased financial literacy. HCRC provides both housing counseling and homeownership mentoring as an end-to-end resource to those lower-income families and individuals considering or in the process of home ownership. The financial tools and resources offered by HCRC help individuals control their financial future.

Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.:

Through its nearly 4,000 member attorneys across Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, ATG has presided over 2.5 million home closings and provided homebuyers with competitively priced title insurance since 1964. The only bar-related title insurance company based in Illinois, ATG has built a significant market share by providing excellent service at competitive prices. It has a financial stability rating of "A Prime Unsurpassed" from the independent ratings bureau, Demotech.

Illinois Housing Development Authority:

IHDA (www.ihda.org) is a self-supporting state agency that finances the creation and the preservation of affordable housing across Illinois. Since its creation in 1967, IHDA has allocated more than $9.67 billion and financed more than 204,000 affordable units across the state. IHDA accomplishes its mission through a number of federal and state funding sources including the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits Fund, the allocation of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and HOME Investment Partnership funds. IHDA is also a bonding authority, and independently sells bonds, based on its own good credit, to finance affordable housing in Illinois.

Media Contacts:

Jason Sherman, SHERMAN communications marketing, 708-445-8598, jason@shermancm.com, http://www.shermancm.com, or Christine Shay, dba/design & marketing, 309.740.9717, cshay@dba-designteam.com

SOURCE Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.