Business
Email this story |
Print this story
More Headlines
July 1st, 2009
Forum aims to help people keep homes
By Paul Jones
Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 2:09 PM PDT
Mortgage and bankruptcy experts spoke about how to avoid foreclosures to a crowd of Novatans at the Novato Unified School District office on Monday. The event, “Preventing Foreclosures” was sponsored by the Novato Chamber of Commerce, and was moved from its a smaller room at the school district office to the board room to accommodate the number of people attending.
“Clearly, the housing issue … has a severe impact on the economy of Novato, and the economy of Novato is very important to us,” said Coy Smith, CEO of the chamber. “We have a great panel here to help you out. If we feel the need, we will do this again.”
Novato has been one of the cities hardest-hit by foreclosures in Marin County.
Paul Cohen of Legal Aid of Marin, an organization that advocates for homeowners’ rights, said people at risk of —or facing—foreclosure should be aware of the sequence of events leading to home loss, and opportunities people had to take action along the way.
“We want to focus on the time period where it’s possible to stave off foreclosure. Sometimes the timeline can be used to your advantage,” said Cohen. “The seventh month (after the first failure to pay) is generally when the notice of foreclosure, generally speaking, will fall. (Are you unable) save your house after the 10th month? No. There’s always, until the very last moment, and even after the fact, sometimes, (time) to go back to the lender and figure things out.”
Cohen also said former owners and tenants facing eviction had certain occupancy rights, and urged people to contact agencies such as Legal Aid for help.
Andy Falk of Bradley Real Estate said that taking responsibility for dealing with a foreclosure situation was the best option, especially because most cases were unique.
“There are a lot of options (for people facing foreclosure),” said Falk. “What you want to do is go to the bank and find out what is going on with your loan. It’s important to try and talk with (someone) in the mitigation department. If you’re considering selling, you want to talk to at least one realtor.”
Falk said short-selling was one option for people to minimize credit damage, but said other alternatives existed.
“Whether it’s loan modification, refinancing, or forbearance, there’s all kinds of options available,” said Falk.
Peter Richmond of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate office in Novato, who will shortly be publishing a book on the subject of foreclosures, said people were not alone, but had to be proactive to find available help.
“Go looking for help. Pick up the phone, and call the bank, immediately,” said Richmond. “Keep pestering them. And if you don’t want to talk with the bank, there are scads of governmental and nongovernmental agencies counseling services available.”
Paul Hickman, president of California Land Title’s San Rafael office, said short-selling was an increasingly available option to people unable or uninterested in keeping their home.
“I’m going to read a few quotes from the Wall Street Journal. There are some things in here really worth keeping in mind,” said Hickman. “‘Short sales … can also be a good way for lenders and investors to minimize losses. They typically result in losses of 19 percent of the loan amount, compared with an average loss of 40 percent for homes that are sold in foreclosure.’”
The upshot, according to Hickman, is that many banks and lenders will be willing to negotiate with debtors over short-selling, which is preferable to foreclosure or bankruptcy, which often take a heavy toll on the loan holder’s credit.
“Don’t be put off by these numbers that you see and think that the short-sale (process) is an insurmountable thing,” said Hickman. “I recently closed escrow on a piece of property in Novato. The lenders wrote off $300,000 worth of loans at the close.”
Dave Ball from the Marin County District Attorney’s Office of Consumer Protection said the county was also working to inform people of legal options in the event of foreclosure proceedings.
“We have referred people to (Housing and Urban Development)-certified counselors, who basically have agreements with lenders to negotiate better deals for you,” said Ball. “You are not alone.”
Ball also added that people who think they have been victims of predatory lending practices could benefit from calling the A.G.’s office.
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of NovatoAdvance.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog; all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site. Any material that is contrary to good taste, contains objectionable material, is not in compliance with community standards or does not meet the standards of the Advance, will not be posted to the Web site.
