A new survey conducted by government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac and the Roper Public Affairs and Media institution says 57-percent of adult homeowners are still unaware of the many loss mitigation options available to them in today’s mortgage marketplace.
The phone survey which included calls to 2,411 adult homeowners —1,004 of them delinquent — concluded that while the percentage of borrowers who know they can talk to a housing counselor has increased from 36-percent in 2005 to 44-percent today, a disproportionate number of borrowers are still unaware that help is out there.

“This new survey shows efforts to get borrowers to call counselors are starting to work, but that too many at-risk borrowers are still unaware their servicers routinely provide alternatives that can help them stay in their homes,” said Ingrid Beckles, vice president of servicing and asset management at Freddie Mac. “This fact underscores the importance of convincing borrowers to pick up the phone, call their servicer and find out whether they can avoid foreclosure.”
Beckles says it’s difficult to make direct contact with many borrowers, which makes home retention a more difficult option.
“One problem is that servicers are unable to contact borrowers in more than half of the foreclosures we see at Freddie Mac,” said Beckles. “That’s why it is imperative to closely track borrower awareness of workout options so the industry and the government can evaluate and enhance their efforts to get more borrowers talking to their servicers about avoiding foreclosure.”
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