Springboard in the Media - Associated Press
March 6, 2009, 2:37 pm
John Mone of the Associated Press recently paid Springboard a visit.
Springboard was the focus of a recent Associate Press report on foreclosure prevention counseling.
Click here to view the video report at the AP's site.
A transcript of the report follows:
AP: When it comes to foreclosure numbers, Riverside County California is pretty much in the top ten in the United States. This is where the sub-prime mortgage meltdown struck deep.
Cindy Llamas, Client Care Center Representative:Yes, we can go ahead and do that, it's no problem. What's your first name?AP: And this call center is getting the brunt of the casualties.
Counselor:So… it isn't… okay. Does that include taxes and insurance?
AP: It turns out many of the people giving out help on the phone worked in the mortgage and real estate business themselves.
Gary Aguilar, Vice President of Counseling Services:We do have a lot, especially with the downturn in the mortgage industry, we have a lot of mortgage professionals. So that may be a real estate agent, brokers, those that worked for servicers, for lenders in various different capacities. They have a knowledge of what the mortgage business consists of.Work is brisk at Springboard, one of the nation's nonprofit credit & foreclosure prevention counseling providers.
Gary Aguilar:Well last year we counseled approximately 50,000 people. Currently just to give you an idea of the comparison; year to date we've counseled around 19,000 so you can see we're helping a lot more people this year.
AP: Under new federal programs, this is one of many call centers nationwide, reachable through what is called the Hope Hotline.
Justin Waller, Vice President of Operations:The Counselors tell me at least one person they talk to a day are in tears on the phone with them.AP: And here the counselors aren't lending mortgages any more.
Counselor: Adjustable or fixed-rate?
AP: They're lending their experience in helping people avert disaster, or at least deal with it.
John Mone, the Associated Press, Riverside, California.
