Foreclosure Prevention Counseling

The Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) operates the Home Preservation Center (HPC) collaboratively with Community Teamwork Inc (CTI). HPC staff include Wen Farina, who manages the Center, foreclosure counselors Maritza Martinez and Debbie Mullins and administrative assistant MJ Zarella. At the HPC counselors provide counseling and case management services to homeowners who are at imminent risk of foreclosure. Our counseling staff address the needs of each individual client beginning with budget and credit counseling and progressing to working as an advocate/ advisor to the client in negotiations with the lender to achieve a loan modification, forbearance on the loan, or in some cases assisting with a short sale. Each case is assessed on an individual basis with the priority to keep people in their homes when possible, and to help them with a housing strategy if remaining in their current residence is not an option.

When clients first contact the HPC, they are triaged to assess their situation. For clients whose foreclosure is imminent, either because of an impending court date or sale date, they are given an immediate appointment to come in to allow HPC staff to move to delay the foreclosure. Clients whose situation is not as critical receive a checklist of necessary documents required for their first counseling session and are registered for one of two monthly foreclosure workshops held at the HPC. The workshops allow staff to explain the foreclosure process and the programs available to the client (including the Making Homes Affordable program), to handle the many general questions new clients have and to review any documents for completion that the clients may have brought with them. The workshops are also crucial in helping new clients realize that they are not alone, mitigating the sense of embarrassment, shame, and isolation that many clients are feeling about their financial problems, which prevents them from seeking help in a timely manner.

When the client has provided the HPC with all required documentation, they will be scheduled for an appointment with a foreclosure counselor. The counselor will work with the client to fully assess their budget and make recommendations on how the client might increase income, cut expenses and repair their credit if necessary. Case management continues with the counselor researching all of the client’s available options, writing up an action plan for the client and putting together a package of required documents to send to the lender if necessary. The counselor will continue to advocate on the client’s behalf with the lender until a workout in the form of a modification or forbearance can be obtained. If a modification or forbearance is not an option, the counselor can make a referral for legal assistance, to a short sales specialist and referral to CTI’s rental assistance program.