U.S. Rep. Karen Bass Addresses Housing Crisis in Town Hall, One-on-One Counseling, Workshop for Homeowners

 LOS ANGELES -- With thousands of California homeowners facing foreclosure, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass held a community town hall and consumer rights workshop to provide residents with one-on-one foreclosure counseling, financial guidance, as well as brief attendees on current legislation in Congress to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure stay in their homes.
 
At Thursday’s event, guests received private consultations with bank representatives from JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, GMAC/Alley Bank or a HUD-approved housing counselor.  Representatives provided homeowners guidance on ways to work with mortgage servicers to avoid foreclosure, organize financial matters and understand mortgage options that may be available to them.
 
“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to offer constituents of the 33rd District access to important resources that could potentially save one of life’s biggest investments,” said Bass.  “I believe bringing the federal and state policy experts as well as the banks together in one place is an extremely important tool to help families who are threatened by the possibility of foreclosure stay safe in their homes.”
 
Special Assistant to the California Attorney General Brian Nelson also updated participants on new state-level policies including the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, an effort to bring fairness, accountability and transparency to the state’s mortgage foreclosure processes. Rep. Bass also briefed constituents on the status of her bipartisan legislation, the Homeownership Preservations Education (HOPE) Act. The HOPE Act would provide a mortgage reduction on the FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium for first-time homebuyers who complete a HUD-approved housing counseling program. Studies show that counseling has a positive effect on successful homeownership for first-time homebuyers. If passed, the HOPE Act would create additional progress toward preventing another foreclosure crisis of this magnitude.