Mortgage crisis addressed
ONTARIO - The mortgage crisis is affecting residents nationwide, but it may be most pressing in California, specifically the Inland Empire.
The Golden State has the highest number of foreclosure filings as well as the most properties in some stage of foreclosure in the country, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc.
As a result, questions and concerns abound.
On Saturday, some homeowners went to Ontario’s Loveland Community Church on Inland Empire Boulevard for answers.
They were greeted by a panel of experts who provided advice on financial counseling, predatory lending and fraud.
The panel was put together by Rep. Joe Baca’s Foreclosure Prevention Initiative campaign and the Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services Inc.
“With one out of every 43 households in San Bernardino and Riverside counties currently experiencing foreclosure, the current mortgage crisis has already hurt too many families,” said Baca, D-San Bernardino.
The experts also discussed the subprime crisis, foreclosure prevention and different terminology.
They also shared steps that a homeowner can do to retain their home such as:
Make mortgage payments a first priority.
Manage budgets to avoid overspending.
Build savings in preparation for a financial crisis.
Contact a lender as soon as possible if it is learned that the next mortgage payment can’t be met.
Baca unveiled at the
workshop proposed legislation that would create an entity - the Family Foreclosure Rescue Corp. - responsible for financing loans to those facing foreclosure or are in default.
Families would be allowed to refinance their mortgage through a government-administered loan with a set interest. The entity would accept loan applications for three years, and after that, it would serve to finish the administration of the loans.
The area of San Bernardino and Riverside counties ranked seventh in the nation in foreclosures in 2007, according to RealtyTrac.
Mortgage default notices jumped 45percent statewide in December, according to a report released by ForeclosureRadar.com, which tracks such data.
Ontario Mayor Paul Leon said he was familiar with the situation that homeowners face. He shared a story about a friend who approached him four years ago and tried to get him to take out a loan.
The friend told Leon that he would be able to pay back the loan in four years, and that all the costs would be recouped in that time.
“That was what people were being told by people they trusted,” Leon told the audience on Saturday. “This was my own friend. Well, let me tell you, right now I’d be moving out with nowhere to go.”
Baca’s campaign has provided additional funding to NeighborWorks America, a national public/private neighborhood redevelopment organization, so it could address local foreclosures as well as launch a 24-hour hot line for homeowners needing assistance.
