Now working with multiple financial institutions to refinance mortgage portfolios in the billions 300 H4H mortgage specialists now trained and certified to handle ?Structured Refinances? Direct-to-consumer outreach includes nationwide educational TV campaign and H4H toll free hotline MELVILLE, N.Y. ? (November 10, 2008) -- Lend America, recently ranked as the 13th largest direct-to-consumer FHA lender in the nation, today provided a progress update on its specialized Institutional Investor Hope for Homeowners (H4H) Outreach Program and announced the launch of a Direct-to Consumer H4H Outreach Platform to educate borrowers on the H4H program and help them avoid foreclosure on sustainable and affordable terms. The Government?s Hope for Homeowners, which was implemented on October 1, 2008, allows lenders to refinance current or delinquent borrowers provided that the first lien holder of the loan writes the loan down to 90% of the current home value and waives any late fees or prepayment penalties. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures the new loan and subordinate lien holders get a share in future appreciation of the loan. Institutional Investor H4H Outreach Program Progress Update Lend America?s Institutional Investor H4H Outreach Program continues to make significant progress in gaining traction with major financial institutions. The Company?s specialized program, which was launched on October 17, 2008, is now working with multiple institutions, including Wall Street banks and hedge funds, to help them quickly recapture principal from their non-performing residential mortgage portfolios. The Company is currently working with thousands of borrowers and the model is projected to grow significantly for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009, as more first lien holders look to Lend America to help them maximize cash flow from non-performing assets by reaching out to non-performing, slow pay and even current borrowers in an effort to refinance them quickly. In addition, Lend America?s entire 300 plus team of mortgage specialist have completed a Lend America mandatory class room training on the Government?s HOPE for Homeowners program. All of the Company?s mortgage specialists have now taken an extensive examination, passed and been awarded Lend America?s formal H4H Certification to begin working with borrowers to help them correctly manage the H4H refinancing process on a one-on-one basis. Direct-To-Consumer H4H Outreach Program Launch Due to the increasing the number of delinquencies and foreclosures and encouragement by the Federal Housing Commissioner for lenders to embrace the H4H program, Lend America is demonstrating further commitment to the H4H program by launching a direct-to-consumer platform. The foundation of the Lend America?s Direct-To-Consumer H4H Outreach Program is its significant number of highly trained and H4H certified mortgage specialist in FHA lending and the Company?s ability to place loans directly into GNMA Mortgage Backed Securities. To drive awareness of its H4H direct-to-consumer platform, Lend America is leveraging its strong marketing experience to develop a series of 30 minute educational seminars to help consumers clearly understand the benefits, guidelines and process of the Government?s H4H program. This advice driven programming will be broadcasted nationwide on various TV channels with the first educational seminar running December 1, 2008. In order to generate additional awareness around the H4H program, Lend America is also developing and will run 60 second commercials on both radio and television throughout the country. The Company has established and will brand a new H4H Toll Free consumer hotline telephone number ? 1-800-H4H- 5311 throughout all its marketing campaigns to give consumers a way to quickly access the Company?s team of mortgage specialist. ?Our goal of working aggressively with institutional investors and now directly with consumers on the H4H Program is to help borrowers remain in their homes on affordable terms, slow the rate of foreclosures and stabilize local housing markets throughout the country,? commented Michael Ashley, Chief Business Strategist of Lend America. ?Borrowers need to be made aware of this solution and clearly understand that many lenders are willing to write-down the outstanding mortgage principal balances to 90% of the new value of the property in exchange for a quick payoff and avoid the costs associated with a foreclosure. I congratulate the Government on this program as it provides much needed financial relief to Main Street through Wall Street.? Mr. Ashley continued, ?Lend America is licensed in 44 states and our highly trained team of 300 mortgage specialist have just completed an extensive internal training course in H4H lending guidelines and are now certified to handle H4H loans We strongly believe that due to our centralized origination platform and our GNMA Mortgage-Backed Securities issuer approval we can quickly reach and educate delinquent borrowers on the benefits of the H4H program, assess affordability and work under the guidelines to refinance a mortgage in as little as 10 days.? Hope for Homeowners (H4H) Program A borrower may be current or delinquent at the time the new H4H mortgage is originate, but must also meet the following eligibility criteria: ? Loan must have originated on or before January 1, 2008 ? Borrowers mortgage debt-to-income must be at least 31 percent ? They cannot afford their current loan ? Borrowers did not intentionally miss mortgage payments ? They do not own second homes Struggling borrowers can take advantage of the H4H Program and have access to a FHA-insured loan with attractive features including: ? 30-year, fixed rate mortgage ? Maximum 90 percent loan-to-value ratio ? No prepayment penalties ? $550,440 maximum mortgage amount ? Extinguishment of any subordinate liens ? New home appraisals from FHA-approved appraisers About Lend America Lend America, a National Mortgage Banking Organization and one of New York?s largest privately owned direct lenders, has proudly served the residential mortgage marketplace for over 20 years. The company is one of the most successful direct to consumer lenders in the United States and is the region?s largest and most well known FHA direct lenders and is a GNMA approved mortgage backed securities issuer. Lend America is also the originator of successful nationwide broadcast television educational seminar programs, titled The Mortgage Loan Network ?MLN.? Lend America offers a wide range of home purchase and refinance programs to meet their clients? individual requirements. The Company also has a direct-to-investor exit strategy solution to help leading Wall Street firms and hedge funds quickly monetize their residential mortgage portfolios. Lend America employs approximately 550 employees and is located at 520 Broadhollow Road, Melville, New York, 11747. For more information on Lend America, visit www.lendamerica.com MEDIA CONTACTS: John Lovallo Lovallo Communications Group Telephone: 203-431-0587 Cell: 203-526-6371 Email: [email protected] Mary McPhail, Chief Marketing Officer Lend America Telephone: 631-944-6883 Email: [email protected]
