The state of Massachusetts, with the help of different organizations including the National Consumer Law Center, Greater Boston Legal Services, BBA, the MBA, and the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center, has set up a Pro Bono Foreclosure Assistance Hotline to provide assistance to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
Massachusetts has been affected by the housing crisis like many other states across the US. To help prevent people from losing their homes to foreclosure, over 100 attorneys in Massachusetts have agreed to handle at least one foreclosure case for free. It is expected that hundreds of people will receive aid from the program and thousands of people will call the hotline.
Information on the Massachusetts Pro Bono Foreclosure Assistance Hotline
Low income Massachusetts homeowners who are facing foreclosure may call the Pro Bono Foreclosure Assistance Hotline at (800) 342-5297 or (617) 603-1700. They will need to leave a message in the voice mail box labeled “foreclosure assistance.” Every day, lawyers, paralegals, or representatives from the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center (LARC) will return phone calls, figure out how to best help the caller with their housing problem, and give general advice to the homeowner, free of charge. The company will also look at the customer’s personal and financial information. Please be patient when waiting for a return call, as during busy periods there may be a short wait.
Once this review is completed and the homeowner is found to meet the eligibility criteria for receiving further assistance, the LARC center will then refer the homeowner to the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association. The homeowner will be assigned to a lawyer who will represent them for free. The attorney will investigate the possibility of modifying the loan, reducing the amount of money owed, or going through a foreclosure mediation program. The large number of foreclosures in Massachusetts has created a need for mortgage assistance.
The attorneys are partnering with other resources, banks, lenders and organizations in the state. They are partnering with the Massachusetts Division of Banks hotline, which is a group of lenders and banks who have agreed to provide additional support. The more organizations that are working together to find a solution, the more likely it is that a successful solution will be found. Bank of America and Chase offer mortgage and foreclosure assistance, respectively. You can learn about these options from each bank.