Grappling With Foreclosures

It had been smooth sailing for Thomas when the price of his Detroit home, which he had bought for $23,000 in 1977, began to rise. He needed ready cash and took an equity loan for $121,000. But even after refinancing many times Thomas could not keep up with increased interest rates. Foreclosure proceedings were initiated against him. He had given up all hope when at the eleventh hour he came to know about an organized effort to fight the horns of the raging bull. With financial counseling he could manage to scrape through and continue to sleep under his own roof. Counselor Carmen Fernandez of Southwest Housing Solutions, affiliated to NeighborWorks in Detroit had extended the helping hand to Thomas. An escrow account had not been set up for his property taxes. The mortgage company paid the bill and then sent a notice to Thomas to cover the taxes, which the latter was in no position to do so, considering his veteran’s fixed income. However another plan was mutually worked out which would cover the dues over an extended period of time. Thomas is all praise for the tact and patience of Carmen.

Since starting on her job a month ago Carmen has advised 40 sufferers and bail out about a quarter. Her role is that of an intermediary. The borrower is usually emotionally upset and unable to negotiate with the lender who stands out as an unmitigated ogre. Her efforts have modified loans, caused lenders to waive fees and parley fresh loan terms

Worried mortgage bankers and community development organizations kicked off a public service crusade to bail out sinking borrowers. The participants are Mortgage Lenders Association, NeighborWorks America and Ad Council. The important thing is without waiting for the fire contact them as soon as the smoke is sighted.. It is not just the borrowers but lenders too suffer when the arrangement collapses. Banks do not want to sit on unsold houses. Till now the public have been generally financial illiterate. There is a push to make people aware of pros and cons. The toll free number to be dialed for help is 888-995-4673. Since activation 1,000 calls per day has been pouring in.

According to figures revealed by Bargain Network the foreclosure virus infects one in every 877 houses across the country. In Michigan alone there were 5,283 foreclosures in only one month.

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