ATG has co-sponsored five similar events for homeowners. At the August 09 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. 

KEEP YOUR HOME | ATG is pitching in to help distressed homeowners in Lake and northern Cook County, Illinois --- we need your help!

 

ATG has co-sponsored five successful events of this type in the the Chicago area, Central Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin. For this event, we are partnering with event organizers Lake County Bar Association and Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) and the organizations listed above. NHS provides education, lending for qualified homeowners, and foreclosure prevention services in order to create opportunities for people to live in affordable homes and strengthen their neighborhoods.

 

At this sixth event, 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. Attorneys and experienced support staff are most needed! Join our team by completing our Volunteer Form. Once you've registered, you will be directed to our Volunteer Information page.
 
VOLUNTEER TRAINING |  We will hold a 30-minute training session on the morning of the event. In addition, attorneys and other volunteers who will work as processors must attend a 90-minute training session (attorneys, this qualifies for one hour of MCLE), which we are offering both in-person and online. The in-person session is Wednesday, February 24, 2010, from 4-6 p.m., at the University Center of Lake County (call 773.329.4111 to register). A recording of this session will be available on ATG's website soon after the live program. After you complete the Volunteer Form, visit the Volunteer Information page to view the training details.

 

QUESTIONS? | About volunteering, contact Mary Beth McCarthy at ATG, 217.403.0111. About the event in general, Nosheen Hemani at NHS, 773.329.4181.
 
WERE THE 2009 EVENTS SUCCESSFUL? | In a word: Yes. Approximately 1,300 homeowners attended the three 2009 Chicago-area events representing almost 700 households. Of those who we pre-screened for eligibility and who had all the necessary documentation to apply on the spot, the success rate was 34% for the first two events and 21% for the third! At the same time our events were going on, the industry average for approvals for homeowners identified by lenders as prequalified was 16%. Source: Treasury's Making Home Affordable Service Report Through September 2009 (p.2).

Homeowners who could not be helped during the events received take-home kits and information packets.  

 

Above right (at the August 09 event in Cicero) ATG member and volunteer attorney Walt Joy (Hoffman Estates) listens to homeowners.
 
Additional efforts to help at-risk homeowners and those in foreclosure have included hosting a "Foreclosure Helpline," as well as compiling an informative online resource, What You Need to Know about Foreclosure.

 

EVENT SPONSORS |  Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago,  Lake County Bar Association, Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.,