Miami is now home to Fannie Mae’s (FNM) first regional help center for distressed borrowers with mortgages the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) owns. The center, the first of a number of planned centers to open nationwide, has housing advisors to meet with borrowers face-to-face to discuss and execute loss mitigation strategies in an attempt to avoid foreclosure. Fannie Mae is working with civic and community leaders from Miami-Dade County, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida and major mortgage servicers to establish and run the center. The center is only for borrowers with a mortgage held by Fannie Mae and by appointment only. The center’s staff can review borrowers’ loans as well as help with preparing a Making Home Affordable workout plan application. “The center in Miami and our future centers across the country will build on Fannie Mae’s long-standing community development network and strong partnerships with local governments nationwide,” said Fannie Mae executive vice president Terry Edwards. “We are committed to helping struggling borrowers understand all of the options available to them to avoid foreclosure and to provide them with the assistance they need in the most streamlined manner possible.” Officials hope the center will provide options for borrowers and deter local scams and groups that charge fees for modifications and foreclosure prevention services. “Many homeowners don’t realize what their options are before or during the foreclosure process. There are ways to keep your home, and my thanks go to Fannie Mae for assisting families in understanding their mortgage situations are not hopeless,” said Miami-Dade County commissioner Dorrin Rolle. Write to Austin Kilgore.