    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 28, 2008]
    [Pages 438-440]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Tour of Novadebt in Freehold, New Jersey
    March 28, 2008

        The President. Thank you very much. I really want to thank
    Congressman Chris Smith and Vito
    Fossella for joining me here in Freehold,
    New Jersey. I'm here at a company called Novadebt. And I really
    appreciate Joel Greenberg and Jill
    Feldman for giving me an opportunity to come to
    this center, this company, and talk with people whose lives are being
    positively affected as a result of a significant counseling effort to
    help people stay in their homes. And I really do want to thank you all
    for your hospitality.
        During my tour, I have met with skilled professionals who provide
    free mortgage counseling for struggling homeowners. And the reason why
    I'm here is because we have got a issue in housing in America. The value
    of the houses have gone down in some areas, and people's mortgages are
    resetting; in other words, the interest rates are going up. And that has
    caused a consternation and concern and care. A lot of families are
    facing the frightening prospect of foreclosures. Foreclosures obviously
    place a terrible burden on a family, as well as they lead to losses for
    lenders and investors. And this affects our entire economy.
        We have a role to play at the Government level, and that is to help
    lenders and borrowers work together to avoid foreclosure. There's some
    homeowners who have made responsible buying decisions and who could keep
    their homes with just a little help--some information and some help. And
    so to help them, in October, my administration helped bring together a
    private sector group of lenders, loan servicers, investors, mortgage
    counselors, which is called the HOPE NOW Alliance. And the members of
    this group have made some progress. First of all, they agreed to
    industry-wide standards to streamline the process for refinancing and
    modifying certain mortgages. HOPE NOW also runs a national hotline to
    connect struggling homeowners with mortgage counselors just like the
    folks here at Novadebt.

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        I also have been--met with some homeowners who've got help. Danny
    Cerchiaro is with us from Iselin, New
    Jersey. Thank you for being here, Danny. He owns a home that also serves
    as a studio for his movie production business. Danny and his wife
    learned their adjustable-rate mortgage was resetting to a higher rate
    this past summer, and he became concerned about financial stability. He
    was worried about staying in his home. He needed a place for his
    business, and he needed a place to sleep. And he became concerned about
    whether or not he could afford it.
        He got--he called HOPE NOW, and he
    became working with a mortgage counselor named Penny Meredith. Penny is here. Appreciate you coming, Penny. And in
    less than 2 months later, Penny helped Danny get a more affordable
    fixed-rate mortgage. Danny calls Penny, and I quote, the ``magic lady.''
    She helped him a lot.
        And there's a lot of other Americans who can get the same kind of
    help. One of the reasons I've come today is to say to people who are
    worried about staying in their home: There is help available.
        I also want to thank Theresa Torres from
    Kansas City who is with us. She got really worried. She's a mom of
    three, her husband is a subcontractor, and she was very worried about
    staying in her home. And the family fell behind on their mortgage
    payments in December. But fortunately, she knew to call and to get help,
    and in this case, from Novadebt. They helped her modify her mortgage.
    And today, as a result of the help she received, she no longer worries
    about losing her home. And I thought her statement was pretty
    interesting. She said, ``I see my role today to serve as an example for
    people in a similar situation.'' So, Theresa, we're glad you're here.
        There are hundreds of thousands of homeowners like Theresa and Danny who can benefit
    from calling HOPE NOW. And so one of my purposes is to make it clear
    there is a place where you can get counseling. And I want my fellow
    citizens, if you're worried about your home, to call this number: 1-88-
    995-HOPE. Let me repeat that again: 1-88-995-HOPE.
        HOPE NOW can help homeowners find the right solution. By the way,
    we've got more work to do in Washington, and one of the things we can do
    is make sure the Federal Housing Administration gets the reforms it
    needs. And there's a program called FHASecure, which has given FHA
    greater flexibility to offer struggling homeowners with otherwise good
    credit histories a chance to refinance. This program is very helpful.
    It's, so far, helped 130,000 families refinance their mortgages. And by
    the end of the year, we expect the program to have reached 300,000
    families.
        And this is a good start. We want to help people. We're committed to
    helping our fellow citizens. And I fully understand, as do most
    Americans, that the housing market problems are complicated, and there's
    no easy solutions. But in the stories I've heard today, I've seen how
    Americans are responding with compassion and determination. We will
    support them with good policies. We will help responsible homeowners
    weather a difficult period. And in so doing, we will strengthen the
    dream of homeownership.
        Thank you all very much.
        Danny Cerchiaro. [Inaudible]
        The President. One-eight-eight-eight. Good. Is it two eights or
    three eights? Okay.
        Danny just told me I got to get the number right: 1-888-995-HOPE.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:30 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Joel Greenberg, president and chief executive officer, and Jill Feldman,
    vice president, Novadebt. The Office of the Press Secretary also
    released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.

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