Foreclosure Crisis Positive Role

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Recently NeighborWorks America has granted Family Service Association of Greater Elgin an amount of $123,674 towards housing programmes including counseling. Those hit by foreclosures are being targeted. NeighborWorks has now taken up a positive role in the raging foreclosure crisis. Ann Rodriguez of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area opines that foreclosure prevention is essential not only for the borrowers but for the entire community. Help is available in Elgin, Hanover, Streamwood, Dundee, Rutland, Hampshire, Plato, Burlington and Schaumburg.

The grant stems from federal funds totaling to $130 million being disbursed through NeighborWorks America. The latter has initiated a Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program working through 16 house counseling agencies all of which are approved by HUD. Also cooperating are 32 house finance agencies of the state and 82 community-based organizations under the umbrella of NeighborWorks. Counseling and help to the foreclosed victims are the top priorities in these inter connected operations.

Those who reach forward to Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area for help as regards foreclosure problems can be sure to get their problems analyzed thoroughly by a certified housing counselor. The latter will try to match the remedial medicines with the individual foreclosure related ailment. They will also contact the lenders on behalf of the traumatized borrowers. The problem is that many do not know that help is at hand.

The parent organization of NeighborWork Systems with its subsidiaries have been working for the uplift of communities since 1978. One of these – NeighborWorks America is a non-profit body built by the Congress to help communities financially and technically with training opportunities. Recently the focus has been on foreclosures and over two hundred counselors have already registered with NeighborWorks for imparting counseling and help. For five days a session was held regarding foreclosure intervention through Center of Homeownership Education and Counseling during the middle of April. Funds have been released by the Congress for such training sessions. Timothy Adams of NeighborWorks America opined that currently more than eight million families are in houses whose value is less than the mortgaged amount. One out of four of sub-prime mortgages are in the delinquency stage – just a step behind foreclosure. More counseling is needed to keep pace with the astronomical foreclosure figures. It is estimated that by the end of this year, 3,000 persons would have qualified for counseling certificates around the country.