With no end in sight to the foreclosure mess, Chase is opening an office in Minneapolis to help homeowners who are struggling to make mortgage payments. The office, called a "Chase Homeownership Center," will be the first in Minnesota. The bank plans to add 25 new centers in 19 states this year, bringing the total number of sites to 76 across the country. According to Chase, 120,000 customers have been served at these centers since 2009.
At the centers, borrowers can sit down with center employees to discuss their options for saving their home from foreclosure. The centers are also supposed to provide a single point of contact. Readers often tell me about their modification woes. They spend months dealing with their lender or servicer, resend documents again and again, and are told something different each time they get a new call center employee on the phone. A brick and morter center may solve some of that.
Chase spokeswoman Christine Holevas said the company is currently finalizing the location and staffing for the Minneapolis office and no opening date has been set. Normally, the centers operate out of Chase branches, but the bank doesn't have a location in Minneapolis.
