Welcome to Spanish Coalition for Housing

• Comprehensive Homeownership Center
• SCH Services All City Wards
• SCH Services Many Suburban Towns
• Support and Empowerment for Landlords

NEW HOURS;
9:00 A.M.-7:00 P.M. M-F

FORECLOSURE? Let Us Help?

Personal Responsibility + Community Involvement = FORECLOSURE PREVENTION

The foreclosure prevention crises is hitting our communities like a mental heath patient receiving electric shock therapy; the patient feels disoriented, at a loss of what to do next and paralyzed with fear of being hit with another shock. Many people in our community are facing this same condition today; they are receiving the shock of an adjustable interest rate that has increased their payments by two or three times what they used to pay. Homeowners are at a loss of what to do next because their budgets cannot be stretched anymore. The foreclosure problem is at a full-blown crisis level in our communities. According to Realtytrac.com, in zip codes such as 60651,60622.60647,60639,80621, 6I625, etc. the foreclosure filings for 2007, as compared to filings in 2006, have increased from the hundreds to over a thousand in each zip code or by as much as 600%.

The answer starts with personal responsibility, only you can change your predicament by:

1. Not ignoring the problem – the further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and you will most likely lose your home.
2. Open all mail from your lender – the first notice you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later, mail may include important notices of pending legal action. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court.
3. Know your mortgage rights – find your loan documents and read them so you know what your lender may do if you can’t make your payments. Learn about foreclosure laws and time-frames in your state by contacting a HUD certified Counseling Agency like Spanish Coalition for Housing.
4. Understand foreclosure prevention options – housing counseling agencies can provide valuable information and what steps to take to protect your interests and save your home.

Remember, lenders do not want your house, they want your payments. Foreclosure is bad business for lenders, they lose from $40,000 to $50,000 per foreclosure. Again, personal responsibility is the first step to avoid becoming a victim of your own choosing.

Furthermore, this crises also hurts the community with negative impact on property values of the surrounding homes. There is a 1% decline in every other property located within a city block. This shock to the community is another unwelcomed onslaught on our low-to-moderate income communities. The only defense is for people not to be like the deer paralyzed by the shock or the drowning man waiting for divine intervention to save him. People facing this crisis need to arm themselves with knowledge of their rights, options to foreclosure available to them, assistance from professional counselors, and support from others in community who want to confront and prevent foreclosures in the community.

That is why Community Involvement is important. Become aware of and a part of any community efforts to increase resources for foreclosure prevention. Attend community forums, speak outs or housing summits such as the one being held on Saturday, November 3, 2007 from 10:30 am – 1:00pm at the Humboldt Park Field House, 1440 North Sacramento Avenue.
For more information contact Spanish Coalition for Housing at (773) 342-7575.