Center Sightings: Radio & TV

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is pleased to have been a part of TWO news stories this week on local media outlets.

The first story, covered by Minnesota Public Radio, Ed Nelson, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Center discusses the discrepancy between RealtyTrac foreclosure counts and HousingLink's foreclosure study that the Center partially funds.  You can follow that story here.

The second story, on WCCO, covers the Center's participation in next week's "Home Preservation" event with Wells Fargo at the St. Paul RiverCentre.  The MN Home Ownership Center was pleased to be invited to participate in this large scale (4 - 600 people are expected) event hosted by Wells.  We'll be following up with additional information about the event and the network of Foreclosure Counselors that will be participating in a blog post shortly.  You can see Julie Gugin, the Center's Executive Director, in the WCCO story here.

We participate in stories like these for one purpose: to let struggling homeowners know that there is a LOCAL, FREE resource available to them right here in Minnesota.  Our network of Housing Counselors is ready to assist Minnesota Homeowners with their mortgage questions.  Struggling with your mortgage?  Click here for help.

Center Media Sightings

Additional details of President Obama's "Making Home Affordable" plan were announced today. The Center is working on producing pieces that can assist Minnesota Homeowners with the details of the plan.

Staff from the Minnesota Home Ownership Center have been interviewed today by WCCO-TV, KARE-11, and FOX-9 News, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press regarding the plan.

Catch us on the news tonight, or newspaper tomorrow! We'll follow-up with links to any of the pieces that air or are published.

Over the next few days, the Center will be producing fact sheets and blog posts to help homeowners understand both the modification and refinance details of the plan... and whether or not this plan is the best option for them.

If you're behind in your payments... or fear you may fall behind soon, DON'T WAIT. Contact a Foreclosure Counselor today for help with determining YOUR next steps.

Center Media Recap

The announcement of President Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan yesterday brought a flurry of media requests to the Center. Here is a recap of the Center's media exposure regarding the President's announcement so far:


KARE-11 News, February 18th
Foreclosure facts: President's advice for homeowners in MN

View the article here: http://tinyurl.com/cv65sq

Video:

In addition, network counselors where highlighted on the KARE-11 Phone bank on the 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 news. See a different post for a listing of the participating counselors and agencies.


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KARE-11 News
Take KARE of your MONEY: Avoid foreclosure
(Segment from 2/11 was re-run on 4:00 news on 2/18)

View the article here: http://tinyurl.com/al6t7b

Video:

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Fox9 News, February 18th 2009
Minnesotans Look for Help in Obama's Mortgage Plan

View Article Here: http://tinyurl.com/ahbxqc

Video:

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WCCO - Don Shelby Show - Tuesday February 18th, 2009
Mortgage Rescue Plan

We can't embed the audio here, but you can listen to Dana Snell from the Center as she speaks with Jeanette Trompoter about the President's announcement.

Listen to the audio segment here: http://tinyurl.com/cqcnap



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Star Tribune, Thursday February 19th, 2009
Local housing agencies ready for flood of calls about relief plan


Read the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/crzo2p


This article also includes a quote by a member of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center's Board of Directors, Chris Galler.

In addition, the online version of the article includes a "Mortgage Help" sidebar that lists the Minnesota Home Ownership Center as the first resource for homeowners... and includes a link to the Center's website.

We'll update this post as we become aware of any additional spots. It's going to be a busy day for the statewide network of foreclosure counselors!

MN Home Ownership Center on WCCO Radio @ 3:45

Dana Snell, Program Director at the MN Home Ownership Center, will be interviewed live on WCCO Radio at 3:45. Dana will be responding to questions regarding foreclosures, President Obama's announcement and the foreclosure counseling services that are available in Minnesota.

Once WCCO has the segment up on their site, we'll add the link to the blog.

UDPATE:
Here is the audio link to Dana's segment on WCCO's the Don Shelby Show (Hosted by Jeanette Trompeter): http://tinyurl.com/cqcnap