Washington homeowners facing foreclosure can now access brochures about homeownership counseling and mediation services in 11 languages.
The Washington State Legislature established the Foreclosure Fairness Act and the Mediation Program in 2011. The program, overseen by the Department of Commerce, is designed to help homeowners and their lenders explore possible alternatives to foreclosure and reach a resolution when possible.
It assists Washington homeowners who are facing foreclosure by providing free homeownership counseling and information about possible mediation with their lender.
While thousands of homeowners have met with housing counselors free-of-charge, and hundreds have entered mediation with their lenders to avoid foreclosure, it is estimated that only 10 percent of homeowners facing foreclosure are using these resources.
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions is charged with outreach and raising program awareness.
Program information brochures – in 11 different languages – are available online at the www.homeownership.wa.gov website. The toll-free hotline and website offer residents a direct link to federal- and state-approved counselors in their communities.
Housing counseling services are free to Washington residents, and are being funded by the state with money from lenders.
Printed versions of the Foreclosure Fairness Program brochures are also available to order online, free-of-charge. The brochure is available in the following languages:
- English
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Korean
- Russian
- Samoan
- Somali
- Spanish
- Tagalog
- Vietnamese
- Cambodian