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Press Release

Castor's Statement on Mortgage Modification Initiative

Washington, November 30, 2009
Tampa Bay area families will benefit under the improved mortgage modification campaign announced by the Obama Administration today.
U.S. Representative Kathy Castor released the following statement today:

"Tampa Bay area families will benefit under the improved mortgage modification campaign announced by the Obama Administration today. Qualified families must be proactive and loan servicers must be held accountable for results.

"Although foreclosure filings in the Tampa Bay area dropped 18 percent last month, Florida remains one of the top three states mortgage foreclosures. In October alone, there were still well over 6,000 filings in the Tampa Bay area, proving that there are still thousands of families in trouble.

"I learned firsthand during my four foreclosure prevention workshops held in Tampa and St. Petersburg, families must be proactive and contact their loan servicer with the help of a HUD-certified housing counselor like Catholic Charities or Tampa CDC. Many families are doing everything right and want to stay in their homes and pay their mortgages, but some loan servicers have been slow to respond to requests for a modification.

"To date, the State of Florida has nearly 83,000 trial modifications underway, but it is still unknown how many of those trials will result in a permanent fix for families in dire need of a real solution.

"New "Get Tough" provisions will require servicers to demonstrate that they are following through with their responsibilities to modify mortgages for qualified families or else face penalties and sanctions.

"Stabilizing the housing market throughout the Tampa Bay area will help everyone regain some of the home value that has been lost since early 2008."