Foreclosure Awareness Spread In Dual Language Over Web

Posted in Foreclosure, January 28th, 2008 |

The officials of Brentwood are giving all the necessary information about foreclosure over the web. Today foreclosures have become as common as equity was a couple of years ago. The sub-prime crisis is intense in East County and there are no hopes in the horizon. Desperate the local officials have become active trying to help those at risk of losing their houses. It added a page to its website with simple information about what foreclosure is together with a list of non-profit helping agencies.

Till 20th January there were on sale in Brentwood 553 houses. Of these 193 were owned by the banks that had previously been foreclosed upon and comprise of 1% of the city’s housing stock.
Gina Rozenski the city’s housing manager for redevelopment says that the site is really helpful in answering all related questions regarding foreclosure and how to stave it off. Many of the information are given in both Spanish and English. She elaborated that the borrowers were traumatized when they went into default and resigned themselves to the jaws of foreclosure without trying to extricate themselves by giving some sort of resistance. The point is that counseling is available for free – classes and low cost legal aid that aim to reduce the number of foreclosures. As yet a time frame has not been fixed upon.

Foreclosures have had such a devastating effect on the community that lenders are coming forward commented Elaine Brooks-Cox who is a housing counselor at Pittsburgh Pacific Community Services Inc. Here the services are free for help seekers. Banks are now amenable to modifying the mortgages and reduce the interest rates to put a brake on foreclosures. So avenues are open that will lead them away from foreclosures.

On 15th January 2008, the County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that was non-binding requesting for a 6-month ban on foreclosures. The Mayors quickly endorsed it – including Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor.

Foreclosures are no longer the exclusive headache of borrowers. The ballooning numbers cutting across socio-economic numbers has affected all levels of the administration – local, state and federal. It has vitiated neighbourhoods bringing down prices and mortgage houses are downing shutters facing a cash crunch. They have acquired thousands of houses which are white elephants – cannot be sold in a falling market. Meanwhile the authorities are minus taxes and plus extra work related to law and order.