Borrower's Assistance Program

Are you currently facing financial hardship? Assistance may be available, if you qualify. To find out, please follow the steps listed under the How to Apply section.

Options to Avoid Foreclosure

The variety of options summarized below may help you keep your home. For example, you may be eligible to modify your mortgage, lowering your monthly payment to make it more affordable. Contact us to determine if you qualify.

  • Reinstatement
  • Repayment
  • Forbearance
  • Modification

Depending on your circumstances, staying in your home may not be possible. In this case, a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure may be a better choice than foreclosure – see below for more information.

  • Short Sale
  • Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure
  • Don’t delay, as failure to take action may result in foreclosure proceedings being initiated on your mortgage
How to apply
Step 1
Download and complete our financial packet.

Download Financial Packet

Step 2
Send us the completed information.

Please see our contact information below for sending documents to us.

  • Sending electronically? Please contact us at (513) 741-6257 for secure delivery options.
  • Do NOT send the documents through regular e-mail as this is not secure.

Mailing Address
Guardian Savings Bank
Attn: Default Services
5901 Colerain Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45239

Telephone Numbers
(513) 741-6257

Assistance Agencies

The following agencies may provide assistance and/or information to you regarding assistance available during the foreclosure process.

Ohio Homeowners
Save the Dream (888) 404-4674
Indiana Homeowners
IN Foreclosure Prevention (877) GET-HOPE
Kentucky Homeowners
Protect My KY Home (866) 830-7868

If you would like counseling, you may contact the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a list of homeownership counseling organizations in your area. Please call (800) 569-4287 or visit a HUD Office of Housing Counseling for more information.

Options to Stay in Your Home

Reinstatement

Overview: Pay the total delinquent amount you owe, in a lump sum payment and by a specific date or pay less than the total amount owed followed by a forbearance plan as described below.

Benefit: Allows you to avoid foreclosure by bringing your mortgage current if you can show you have funds that will become available at a specific date in the future.

Repayment

Overview: Pay back your past-due payments together with your regular payments over an extended period of time.

Benefit: Allows you time to catch up on late payments without having to come up with a lump sum.

Forbearance

Overview: Make reduced mortgage payments or no mortgage payments for a specific period of time.

Benefit: Gives you time to improve your financial situation and possibly qualify for a better option than would be available right now.

Modification

Overview: Receive modified mortgage terms to make it more affordable or manageable after successfully making payments during a “trial period” (e.g., completing a three month trial period plan) that requires payment of the approximate amount of the modified payment.

Benefit: Permanently modifies your mortgage so that your payments or terms are more manageable as a permanent solution to a long-term or permanent hardship.

Options to Leave Your Home

Short Sale

Overview: Sell your home and pay off a portion of your mortgage balance when you owe more on the home than it is worth.

Benefit: Allows you to transition out of your home without going through foreclosure. In some cases, relocation assistance may be available.

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure

Overview: Transfer the ownership of your property to us.

Benefit: Allows you to transition out of your home without going through foreclosure. In some cases, relocation assistance may be available.

We Want to Help

Take action to gain peace of mind and control of your housing situation. Call us at (513) 741-6257 and we’ll talk about available options and help you understand the forms and documents we need from you to determine if you qualify for an option to avoid foreclosure.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will it cost money to get help?

GSB does not charge fees nor should a qualified counselor to obtain assistance or information about foreclosure prevention options. However, foreclosure prevention has become a target for scam artists. Be wary of companies or individuals offering to help you for a fee, and never send a mortgage payment to any company other than GSB or one designated to receive your payments under a state assistance program.

2. What is foreclosure?

Forfeiture of your home through a legal process where GSB repossesses the property and you will have to move. This process may involve an eviction, you may remain liable for your mortgage debt and it may be as long as seven years before you are eligible for another Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan.

3. Will the foreclosure process begin if I do not respond to GSB's notices regarding missed payments?

If you do not respond to notices to you regarding past due payments, your lender may refer your loan to foreclosure in accordance with your mortgage loan documents and applicable law.

4. Should I still contact GSB if I have waited too long and my property has been referred to an attorney for foreclosure?

Yes, the sooner, the better!

5. What if my property is scheduled for a foreclosure sale in the future?

If GSB receives a complete Uniform Borrower Assistance Form and the supporting documents it requires with only 37 or fewer calendar days before a scheduled foreclosure sale, there is no guarantee we can evaluate you for a foreclosure alternative in time to stop the foreclosure sale. Even if we are able to approve you for a foreclosure alternative prior to a sale, a court with jurisdiction over the foreclosure proceeding (if any) or public official charged with carrying out the sale may not halt the scheduled sale.

6. Will my property be sold at a foreclosure sale If I accept a foreclosure alternative?

No. The property will not be sold at a foreclosure sale if you accept an offer for an alternative to foreclosure and comply with all requirements.

Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams!

Scam artists have stolen millions of dollars from distressed homeowners by promising immediate relief from foreclosure, or demanding cash for counseling services when HUD approved counseling agencies provide the same services for FREE. If you receive an offer, information or advice that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t let them take advantage of you, your situation, your house or your money. Remember, help is FREE.

 

How to Report a Scam – do one of the following:

  • Go to www.preventloanscams.org and fill out the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network’s (LMSPN) complaint form online and get more information on how to fight back. Note: you can also fill out this form and send to the fax number/e-mail/address (your choice!) on the back of the form.
  • Call 1(888)995-HOPE (4673) and tell the counselor about your situation and that you believe you were scammed or know of a scam.
How to Spot a Scam - beware of a company or person who:
  • Asks for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance or reinstate your mortgage.
  • Guarantees they can stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified.
  • Advises you to stop paying your mortgage company and pay them instead.
  • Pressures you to sign over the deed to your home or sign any paperwork that you haven’t had a chance to read, and you don’t fully understand.
  • Claims to offer “government approved” or “official government” loan modifications.
  • Asks you to release personal financial information online or over the phone and you have not been working with this person and/or do not know them.