TV News: Chase Bank helps homeowners avoid foreclosure
Angelica Duria/WITI-TV (Fox) - Milwaukee, WI
20 May 2011

Video link: http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-20110520-foreclosure-protection,0,7888765.story

Thousands of people are struggling to stay on top of their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. Many of them spend hours on the phone with their bank, trying to get help. But as Fox 6's Angelica Duria found out, now some of those homeowners can get help face to face. 

Bill Druliner works with GreenPath a non-profit organization helping struggling homeowners prevent foreclosure. 

"We have approximately 1100 active clients that we're working with in either repayment plans or in working with their mortgage company."  

"The most common reason we see for foreclosure right now is unemployement or reduction in income."

And he knows how daunting that task can be just to get help.

"A lot of people are ashamed of their financial situation. They're not sure who they can trust and or who they can go to with this."

In order to help streamline the process Chase Bank has now opened Wisconsin's first Homeownership Center in Brookfield. There advisors will work with borrowers face to face and try to provide options to keep their homes such as loan modifications and repayment plans or assist with them with short sales.

(Chase rep.) "We deal with the individual situation and whatever their situation presents itself or cause their hardship we'll deal with that accordingly, whether it's death, divorce or unemployment or whatever the case may be."

The bank says with about 1 in every 400 homes under foreclosure in our area a little one-on-one contact without having to go through an 800 number to do that could make a difference, helps take some of the sting out of that situation.

In Brookfield, Angelica Duria, Fox 6 News.

News anchor: "Again, this program is only for customers of Chase, EMC Bank, or Washington Mutual, which was taken over by Chase."