I was feature today in the Press Enterprise in an article in the business section by Leslie Berkman and I thought I would share this with everyone and let them know that their blogging and websites can make a difference in peoples lives.
Corona man uses blog to coach homeowners on how to save their property
Blogging at his laptop computer in Corona, Moe Bedard coaches a team of 1,000 homeowners racing an obstacle course to save their homes from foreclosure.
They have joined Bedard's Internet site, LoanSafe.org, founded in August as a grass-roots forum for homeowners who face the prospect of losing their homes to skyrocketing adjustable mortgages.
"I think people can help each other. There doesn't have to be so many foreclosures," Bedard said.
To date, LoanSafe takes credit for helping members save 19 homes from foreclosure. Their stories are chronicled on the site, and Bedard said they are meant to inspire others.
"It's like being an online coach," Bedard said of his role, which includes monitoring the Web site to keep out unauthorized for-profit solicitors, answering questions and giving encouragement from 5 a.m., when clients on the Eastern Seaboard begin to log in, until 10 p.m.
He said the site has gotten about 500,000 hits, and they keep coming at a rate of about 5,000 a day.
Modifying a Loan
The free foreclosure help Web site is where people who use such sign-on names as luvmyhouse and madashell can anonymously vent their anger and worries, share their experiences and cheer one another on.
Bob Sweigart, of San Diego, said he was one of the first to use the Web site as a tool to obtain a loan modification after the interest rate on his 5.99 percent adjustable-rate mortgage had jumped to 9.75 percent and was set to increase again.
Sweigart said someone at Countrywide had interviewed him by phone and determined he was "prequalified" for a loan modification, but then he heard nothing more for six months. He made 40 calls to Countrywide but got no response.
He said he learned on the LoanSafe Web site that lenders are legally obligated to answer a letter, and another Web site member offered vital e-mail addresses, including one for Countrywide's president.
Within 24 hours of sending a barrage of e-mails to Countrywide, Sweigart had an agreement from the lender to push the interest rate on his mortgage back to the low introductory rate for five years, he said.
"I am one of the lucky ones," Sweigart said. "There are so many people out there who don't have a clue. They don't know what loan modification means. I am on the Web site all the time helping people by telling them these are the steps that I took. Do what I did."
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