Released: July 24, 2008

Thousands flock for a chance at loan relief

Source: Renae Merle & Jordan Weissmann, Washington Post (Free Registration)

The homeowners started lining up at 4 a.m. yesterday, some, like Patricia Ephraim, coming for a second or third day.

Ephraim, who lives in Silver Spring, MD. was among the thousands of distressed borrowers drawn to downtown Washington yesterday by a promise of help from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. The Boston housing advocacy group set up tables and offices staffed with about 300 housing counselors at the Capitol Hilton. They worked with the homeowners to prepare budgets and submit proposals to their lenders for lower mortgage payments. A line of people clutching folders of their financial documents snaked around the outside of the hotel.

After attending Monday and working with a housing counselor until 11 p.m. Tuesday, Ephraim learned yesterday afternoon that her mortgage payments would be cut by more than $500 a month. Still, the 25-year-old remained perched by the side of her counselor, waiting for confirmation in “black and white.”

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