Chase offers mortgage modification help in Uniondale

Struggling homeowners with Chase mortgages can get help Saturday at the Marriott Hotel in Uniondale, where more than 12 loan advisers will be at hand.

Borrowers with EMC Mortgage may also get help because Chase services those loans.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., homeowners can get initial counseling on applying for changes to their mortgages, or loan modifications, in which monthly payments can be lowered. That can be done by reducing the interest rate, stretching the mortgage contract period or even cutting down the principal.

These modifications may be offered through the federal rescue plan, Home Affordable Modification Program, or through each lender’s own programs.

Homeowners are also welcome even if they are current on payments but have a hard time making them, Chase said.

It’s an opportunity to drop off loan modification applications and sign Chase papers, a way to cut down chances of the lender losing or misplacing the paperwork. That's been a common complaint from borrowers, regardless of who the lender is.

This summer, Chase plans to open a Long Island "homeownership center," where people can get similar help on their loans. The closest one now is at 176-60 Union Tpke., Flushing.

The hotel is within walking distance of Hempstead Village, which in April decided to close its $12.5 million account at Chase to protest the bank's mortgage modification practices.

Chase spokesman Michael Fusco said they held the event after talking to officials of Hempstead and Freeport villages: "We're doing everything we can to help struggling homeowners. We've been working with their offices looking for additional ways to reach them . . . Any struggling borrowers, we want to work with them regardless of their background."

-------------------
Read more of Inside Long Island Business