At a recent homeowner event in Cicero, Illinois, ATG member and volunteer attorney Joseph Nery (standing), provides counsel as well as translation assistance as a counselor works with homeowners. 

FIX MY MORTGAGE | ATG is pitching in to help distressed homeowners in Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Stark, Marshall, Knox, and McLean Counties in Central Illinois --- we need your help!

 

ATG has co-sponsored four successful events of this type in the the Chicago area and Madison, Wisconsin; now we are expanding our efforts into Central Illinois. The event organizer is METEC, a Community Development Corporation that provides expertise in budget, credit, and housing counseling as well as guidance on administrative aspects of homebuyer assistance programs for those in need.

At this fifth event, "Fix My Mortgage," distressed homeowners will meet with trained volunteer lawyers and counselors who will help them determine if they qualify for President Obama's Making Home Affordable (MHA) program designed to help them stay in their homes. Once qualified, volunteers will assist homeowners in assembling and submitting their MHA Loan Modification packages. Representatives from several large lenders will be present.
 
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED | Please consider donating your Saturday for this worthwhile endeavor. Join our team by completing our Volunteer Form.
 
VOLUNTEER TRAINING | Attorney volunteers are required to attend the ATG Legal Education program "Negotiating Loan Modifications," available online FREE from ATG (qualifies for 2 MCLE credits). If you attended the live presenation in Chicago on April 22, 2009, you need not repeat it online. Select your preferred option on the Volunteer Form. Instructions will follow.

 

Questions? | Contact Mary Beth McCarthy at ATG.
 
SIMILAR EVENTS IN CHICAGO | ATG co-sponsored three successful "Fix Your Mortgage" events in the Chicago area on May 2, June 6, and August 29, 2009. ATG lawyer volunteers and other certified home counselors helped more than 1,300 homeowners; approximately half of them qualified for Obama's loan modification program and submitted their loans for modification. Others received take-home kits and information packets.

 

At right, ATG member and volunteer attorney Walt Joy (city name) listens to homeowners at the August event in Cicero. 
 
Additional efforts to help at-risk homeowners and those in foreclosure have included hosting a January 2009 "Foreclosure Helpline," as well as compiling an informative online resource, What You Need to Know about Foreclosure.

 

EVENT SPONSORS | METEC's Housing Counseling Resource Center, Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.,

and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.