The short answer to this question is to call the Ohio Housing Finance Agency at 1-888-404-4674 right away! The agency will give you your county HUD approved housing counseling agencies and you will need to contact them immediately and schedule an appointment for free help. If you opened your mail to find a foreclosure notice from your mortgage servicer several things have been happening. First of all, you have previously spoken to your 
mortgage servicer when they contacted you because of late or missing mortgage payments; a verbal conformation must have been made. Gather all housing related documents with account numbers, addresses and phone numbers in front of you when you make your call along with paper and a pencil or pen. Be ready to answer basic questions about your mortgage and write down questions you want to be sure to ask while you have these helpful agencies on the line. It’s important to educate yourself as much as you can about the foreclosure process.
The website http://www.avoidforeclosureohio.org/ is a good place to start. Another valuable resource for you is
the video series prepared by the Legal Aid Society of Columbus to help you understand foreclosures. The second video is titled “Understanding Foreclosure Part 2.” The Foreclosure Process addresses possible changes / modifications the homeowner and servicer might agree to make to the original mortgage agreement. The first part of their series is linked in last week’s blog What is the timeline for foreclosure?
A home is in foreclosure because the homeowner has not been able to pay the full mortgage amount due each month to the mortgage servicer. The modifications to the mortgage, sometimes referred to as “mods,” are placed in a “workout agreement.” If an agreement can be reached, it states how the homeowner will pay the delinquency and avoid foreclosure. Each mortgage servicer can have their own procedures to follow when it comes to “loss mitigation.” What options available to a neighbor or friend might not be available to you. Because mortgage servicers are very familiar with the available workout options, they are able to steer you towards an agreement that might be more to their advantage than yours. Access to qualified HUD approved housing counselors referred to by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) (call 888.404.4674 for a free housing counselor) will put you on a level playing field; don’t try to go through the foreclosure process alone. The resources available if you receive a foreclosure notice / foreclosure filing will be next week’s topic.
