Nationstar Mortgage partners with City of Milwaukee

Help for Milwaukee homeowners facing foreclosure, and it's coming from a mortgage company led by Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens.

Mayor Tom Barrett announced a partnership with Nationstar Mortgage.

Mayor Tom Barrett and Common Council President Michael J. Murphy said the company will provide the assistance through a combination of Nationstar and City of Milwaukee programs to help residents throughout the city keep and repair their homes. 

The plan includes a commitment to provide an increased level of mortgage loan modifications to Nationstar customers in the city and a $500,000 donation to support the City of Milwaukee’s Strong Homes loan program from 2016 through 2018.

“For Milwaukee homeowners who face economic challenges, this commitment is an opportunity to help more homeowners in our city.  Home foreclosures will be avoided with new modification agreements, and more owners will receive low interest loans to help finance critical repairs to their homes.” Mayor Tom Barrett said. “Residents who own their homes add value and stability to Milwaukee neighborhoods, and I don’t want anyone to lose their home unnecessarily.”

The five-part plan for Milwaukee includes the following elements:

1. Nationstar will provide up to $30 million in financial assistance over the next three years for Nationstar customers in Milwaukee through mortgage loan modification programs. This assistance will help qualified customers potentially save on their mortgage payments, and represents a 57% increase over the amount of projected gross mortgage loan modifications Nationstar would otherwise forecast to provide over that period of time.

2. Nationstar will provide $500,000 ($166,667 per year for three years) to the City of Milwaukee to support the Strong Homes Loan Program through 2018.

3. Three face-to-face customer outreach events per year for the next three years to meet with and help Nationstar customers struggling with their mortgage payments in Milwaukee.

4. Donations of as many Nationstar managed real estate properties in Milwaukee as possible. Whenever the company has foreclosures available that can be rehabilitated by local families or non-profits, those properties will be donated with a stipend of up to $10,000 per property to support renovation costs. 

5. A commitment to continue working with institutions that own mortgage loans in Milwaukee to secure additional assistance whenever possible, including discussions regarding GSE-owned REOs and unique, city-focused program opportunities for Milwaukee homeowners who are struggling.

This comes after several months of demonstrations from the citizen action group, Common Ground.

Common Ground has criticized Nationstar's handling of foreclosed properties in Milwaukee the last few months.

Mayor Barrett says after discussions with the city. Nationstar has agreed to commit 30-million dollars in mortgage adjustments over the next three years in Milwaukee.

The company has also agreed to host three events to help families facing foreclosure find solutions to keep their home.

And on Monday, Common Ground will hold a press conference to share their new stance on the Bucks Arena.

The announcement takes place at 4 pm.