Hundreds of struggling homeowners are expected to turn out Saturday for a free workshop at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford designed to help them to avoid foreclosure.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which helped organize a similar event in August at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., says more than 12,000 loans in Connecticut were delinquent – 60 days past due – as of November.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is geared toward homeowners who are in trouble with their mortgage loans but not yet in foreclosure. At least 14 lenders will be on hand to give borrowers can meet face-to-face with them.
“We encourage those with concerns to gather their documents, come to an event like this and work proactively with their lender or loan servicer,” said Eric S. Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Rosengren said more than a third of the 2,000 people who attended the workshop at Gillette Stadium were able to have their loans modified. Others needed to provide more information to their lenders and many learned there were no workable solutions, he said.
There also will be housing counselors available. Nelson Merced of the Washington, D.C.-based NeighborWorks America, said counselors can help struggling homeowners negotiate a solution with their lenders.
The Federal Reserve has sent postcards inviting 16,000 people in Connecticut and western Massachusetts who it believes might benefit from the workshop. But Rosengren people don’t need the invitations to attend. (AP)
