Citigroup to provide mortgage help and assistance for up to 500,000 homeowners in order to reduce foreclosures.

• Citigroup launches the Citi Homeowner Assistance program. This program will provide help to a select group of 500,000 homeowners whose mortgages Citi owns or manages. While these homeowners are not currently behind on their mortgage payments, some of these homeowners may require help to remain current on their mortgage bills and payments. Citigroup is focusing particularly on those borrowers who are in areas that are likely to face extreme economic distress.
  
  Through various programs Citi has helped over 700,000 borrowers to date, and just during the last 3 months they have helped over 130,000 homeowners, so the pace of the various programs is  accelerating. Learn more.
   
• Extends foreclosure moratorium practice. Citigroup will also systematically implement its practice of not starting the foreclosure process completing a foreclosure sale on any eligible borrower where Citi owns the mortgage, if the borrower is trying to stay in the home which is their principal residence, if the borrower is working in good faith with Citi, and if the homeowner has sufficient income to make  affordable mortgage payments.
   
• Citgroup will also provide mortgage relief to the unemployed. More.

The Citigroup Homeowner Assistance program builds on the Citi legacy of creating and implementing new and innovative best business practices and success

Since early 2007, Citigroup has helped about 400,000 families avoid foreclosure on their primary homes. This represented over $35 billion in total underlying value in debt and loans.

Efforts taking include:

• Office of Homeownership Preservation (OHP) - Since 2007, Citi’s OHP has worked with both mortgage counselors and borrowers to aid them in finding alternatives to foreclosure whenever possible. Through the OHP program, Citi has offered delinquent borrowers free services such as round-the-clock access to qualified mortgage counselors and an informational website: www.mortgagehelp.citi.com. OHP also offers all customers and borrowers a robust suite of pre-and post-purchase financial education services that can help them with paying bills.
• Modifying mortgages to reduce payments and adjust principal.
• Counseling Workshops in 25 Cities - In 2008, Citi sponsored events in almost 30 U.S. cities for delinquent borrowers with a local community-based counseling organization.
• Financial Education - In partnership with the Office of Financial Education, Citigroup and OHP have developed two curricula. They are a consumer and also a counselor curriculum that help provide training and other information on financial strategies to assist homeowners with debt and bills.

Citi Home Affordable Modification Program

Citi has continued to show that it is determined to help keep families in their homes. They are working with people to modify mortgages, offering assistance programs, and doing what they can to prevent foreclosures. The Citi Home Affordable Modification Program is working with homeowners to help implement the federal government’s vision of saving homes and ending the housing crisis.

Deed in Lieu from Citi

This is when the homeowner is allowed to remain in the home for a short period of time after an agreement is made with the lender. Citi is now offering a Deed in Lieu program on a trial basis for homeowners in several hard hit states. The program provides other benefits as well.

Click here to read more on how this option from Citi may help you deal with your housing situation.

Alternative Citigroup loan modifications

Citi has continued to expand upon the number of types of mortgage loan modification programs offered. Some of the options include a deferral that could lower a homeowners monthly payments for 90 or 120 days, adding missed payments to the end of the loan, or extending the legth of the mortgage. But there are others. Learn more on various Citigroup modification programs.