Help for Homes at Risk of Foreclosure

MINNEAPOLIS - Sales of new homes plunging to a record low in May -- down 33 percent. Demand for home loans fell from a six-month high, despite record low interest rates. Mortgage applications for the last week slipped 5.9 percent.

When you hear those statistics it’s no surprise that foreclosures were up 28 percent in the first quarter in Minnesota. But at South High School in Minneapolis, borrowers are learning how to avoid being a statistic.

Unemployment is the number one reason for falling behind in your mortgage payments. But in many cases it is possible to save your home if you act early. Last year, there were more than 23,019 foreclosures in Minnesota.

But the total number of people who lost their homes was down 12 percent from an all-time high set in 2008. The drop was due in part to nearly 16,000 people, who sought foreclosure prevention counseling.

“The sooner homeowners seek out help, the more options they have available to them,” said Ed Nelson with the Minnesota Home Ownership Center.

Nelson says, last year, the non-profit was able to help more than half of those who sought counseling to stay in their homes.

At the foreclosure prevention workshop, two major Minnesota lenders, U.S. Bank and Bank of America are actually able to modify the terms of many existing loans, including lowering interest rates to make payments more affordable.

“The banks do not want these properties. They do not want more houses to then take care of and then get back on the market and sell. They really do want to work with homeowner to get or keep those homeowners in those homes. “
Loosing a home can not only devastate families, but the process also costs banks and the greater community $60,000-70,000 per foreclosure.

Hundreds of cash strapped homeowners are expected to attend the two workshops, which will run until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday and again Thursday 2 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Minnesota Home Ownership Center
http://www.hocmn.org