Resources for Maryland Homeowners Facing Foreclosure: Where to Go for Help

November 24, 2008

Several Maryland state government agencies, housing counseling agencies, and legal services organizations have joined forces to offer legal help to Maryland homeowners facing foreclosure.

Their combined efforts have produced the “Foreclosure Prevention Project” and the HOPE (Home Owners Preserving Equity) Foreclosure Prevention Program.

What the programs do

The projects aim to have volunteer attorneys help homeowners facing foreclosure. The attorneys help the homeowners assess their mortgage situation and decide which foreclosure alternatives might work. You can read more about common foreclosure alternatives at this link.

Perhaps most importantly, the volunteer attorneys will (when appropriate) also contact the homeowner’s loan servicer to attempt to negotiate the desired solution.

An attorney working on a homeowner’s behalf may be able to get prompt responses from lenders and loan servicers. This is important because many homeowners throughout Maryland report getting the run-around from their loan servicer when trying to negotiate a modification of their troubled mortgage.

How to contact

The hotline to call is: 1-877-462-7555

The website is: www.mdhope.org

If you need legal help

If you need legal help, the HOPE Program counselors will help refer you to a pro bono attorney.

If you do not qualify for these programs, other help is available.

If you do not qualify for the program or you do not meet the income guidelines to qualify for a pro bono attorney, try contacting your county’s Bar Association.

Many have programs in which county residents can get a referral to an attorney who has volunteered to work at a reduced fee to help homeowners in foreclosure.

Click the link to learn more about the Bar Association of Montgomery County’s Reduced Fee Program.