HUD secretary urges homeowners to get help to avoid foreclosure

Maria HerreraSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel

Released : Sunday, February 03, 2008 3:00 AM

Feb. 3--BOYNTON BEACH -- Some took notes frantically, as if in a college classroom. Others sunk their heads in their hands as if to hide their confusion and desperation.

But all who attended a forum Saturday at Boynton Beach High School hoped to learn something to keep foreclosure at bay.

More than 200 people attended the Home Preservation Forum, a United Way of Palm Beach County event to educate homeowners on how to save their homes from foreclosure. The forum featured keynote speakers from financial institutions, the Palm Beach County Commission on Affordable Housing, the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"With all the changes in the economy, the first thing you want to do is learn how to protect your home," said Onieda Rodriguez, of Delray Beach.

Rodriguez is a single mother with three children. She has a good job with an information technology company and has not fallen behind on her mortgage payments.

But "it's scary," she said of the current fallout in the real estate market in Florida and talk of foreclosures and recession. "There is no such thing as job security and you always have to have a backup plan."

After five years of fast sales and record price increases, South Florida's housing market soured in 2006. Some analysts expected it to improve by late 2007, but the slump deepened as foreclosure filings and the inventory of homes for sale spiked. Then, last summer's credit crunch forced lenders to tighten standards, which reduced the pool of qualified buyers.

"The housing crisis has been a powerful, staggering shock to our economy," Jackson told the audience. "Millions of homeowners have felt it ... the ripple effect touches financial institutions and governments everywhere."

Analysts say the housing slump will worsen early in 2008 as more adjustable-rate mortgages jump, sending homeowners into foreclosure and adding to the glut of properties for sale.

However severe the crisis, Jackson said, help is available. There are counseling services, and programs homeowners can seek to save their homes.

"The housing crisis must not steal away our dreams," he said.

Jose Varga is trying to hold on to his house in West Palm Beach. His problems started when he lost his job in October. After two months of unemployment, he fell behind on his payments. He was hoping to learn Saturday how to negotiate with the lender to keep his house.

"When I call, they tell me to pay or they will take my house," he said. "I want to make some kind of arrangement so that I can pay and keep it."

Vargas' credit wasn't strong enough to qualify for a mortgage with a low interest rate. On top of that, his home's value declined from $330,000 to $250,000 last year.

"I'm trapped," he said. "I can't even sell it to pay my mortgage and move to a more affordable place farther north."

Jackson, who is touring the country attending forums, said the situation is similar nationwide. He said that at a forum in Detroit, more than 200 people showed up with similar stories.

"It shows you the depth of the problem," Jackson said. "But it also shows you the problem can be resolved."

Jackson said it is important for homeowners to learn about the help available and what they can do to keep their homes.

Most people at the forum said they were embarrassed to talk publicly about their foreclosure problems. Most had fallen behind on their mortgages because they lost their jobs in construction or their interest rates were set so high they can't make the payments anymore.

"Nobody wants to be seen as a failure," Jackson said. "These people have worked hard all their lives to become a homeowner, to be part of the community."

Maria Herrera can be reached at meherrera@sun-sentinel. com or 561-243-6544.

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Provider:
Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News / South Florida Sun-Sentinel


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