For Foreclosure Problems Seeking Early Help Is Vital
Monday, June 30th, 2008At St. Louis a conference on foreclosures underlined that for all foreclosure problems the seeking of early help is vital for an effective solution. At the end of the session Karn Wallensak took over the microphone and exhorted the audience to chant after her “If I get in trouble, I am going to pick up the phone and I am going to call for help.” The conference was a well-attended one at Missouri-St. Louis University. This was one of the many being held to spread awareness about the increasing menace of foreclosures.
Wallensak is the head of the Catholics Charities Housing Resource Center. The other participants were legal personnel and counselors..
In Missouri over 26,000 mortgages were in some stage of foreclosure during the first quarter of this year according to the findings of Mortgage Bankers Association. In Illinois the figures were an alarming 74,000. From 2007 the foreclosure pace has picked up as the interest rates jumped. Families found that overnight their monthly commitments had doubled.
The foreclosure victims, drowning with rate increase should immediately contact bonafide counselors before the dues become unmanageable. This was the opinion of Linda Ingram a counselor in St. Louis. Once the legal process of foreclosure starts rolling is it difficult to pull it back. So the best thing is to pull the chain before the train leaves the station. Fortunately of all the 20 borrowers who had attended the session none were at that point of no return. They had already learnt how to avoid foreclosure.
Each house owner has a specific problem. For instance Kim Vu is apprehensive about what will happen when she loses her job in August. She is keen to know what alternatives are there before her if she fails to keep running.
The Mayor of Greendale, Charles Ellis says that in this north St. Louis County there are 330 houses of which 5% are lying vacant. Since 2007 there has been four foreclosures. The point is to keep the foreclosure wolf at bay and not permit further encroachments. Neighbourhoods can be devastated by foreclosures says Lisa Ransom of Center for Responsible Lending, a federal body. On an average a single foreclosed unit brings down the price of neighbouring properties by $3,000 to $5,000. The tax revenues fall causing great worry to the local governments So Lisa argues, \” This is not ‘someone else’s’ problem. This is everyone’s problem.\”
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