• Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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Loan-modification in Texas could help Countrywide customers avoid foreclosure

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By Andrea Jares | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Financially troubled North Texas homeowners with Countrywide loans could avoid foreclosure and refinance to lower mortgage payments under a deal struck with attorneys general in seven states.

"This isn’t going to solve all mortgage-related problems, but it is a step down the path helping Texans stay in their homes and continue to work to build the American dream," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Monday at a news conference in Austin.

The $8 billion cost of the plan would mostly come from losses that Bank of America and other holders of Countrywide home loans would take as homeowners are reconfigured into more manageable loans, said Terry Francisco, Bank of America spokesman. Bank of America now owns Countrywide Financial.

An estimated 30,000 Countrywide Financial Corp. loan holders in Texas could participate in the program, according to the Texas attorney general’s office.

"As our nation’s economic turmoil demonstrates, our economy is only as sturdy as our nation’s home values," Abbott said. ". . . Helping eligible Texans pay their mortgages and stay in their homes will help our great state weather this financial storm."

Read the complete story at the star-telegram.com

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