[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 12 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[Pages 443-445]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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,

[[Page 444]]

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.
    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.

[[Page 445]]

    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.
    Thank you.

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.