Urban League launches citizen hotline
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the National Urban League and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) recently announced the launch of the Foreclosure Prevention and Education Program. Through their partnership, the three organizations will work to reduce and prevent home foreclosures in African-American communities.
“Foreclosure is a growing problem in St. Louis and is threatening the stability of families, communities and needs to be addressed,” Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President Jim Buford said.
St. Louis is one of three pilot programs for which the HPF is providing up to $1.2 million to the National Urban League over three years. The other cities participating in the pilot program, Houston and Philadelphia, also have high and rising foreclosure rates among minorities.
Buford said that in 2004 African American homeownership was up 50 percent. “The economy was on an uptick, and many African Americans took advantage of subprime loans,” he said.
“The economy has since turned, and those subprime loan interest rates have spiked so many African Americans find themselves unable to catch up.”
“One million families will foreclose in America this year,” said Colleen Hernandez, president and executive director of HPF.
Buford said that foreclosure problems affecting the entire society are only exacerbated in predominately low-income, minority communities.
“When America catches a cold, the African American community catches pneumonia,” he said.
“African Americans are disproportionately impacted by foreclosure, and so are other low-income individuals,” HPF board member and former mayor of Minneapolis Sharon Sayles Belton said.
“They come in without perfect credit or no credit histories, which puts them in (loan) programs that are different than those who have positive credit history.”
Launched in June, the new program has helped 18 local families save their homes from foreclosure, and currently there are about 40 clients receiving services through the program.
Mary Cobb and Sol Allen are two satisfied customers.
Allen is a Florissant homeowner who almost lost the three-bedroom home where he’d lived for almost four years with his wife, Ramona, and 19-year-old son.
“My wife lost her job, and things started adding up,” he said. “Before we knew it, we couldn’t pay the mortgage.”
After falling three months behind in payments, his mortgage company recommended he call the Urban League hotline.
Widower Mary Cobb found herself in a similar financial predicament. When she purchased her house about 10 years ago, she was able to make the mortgage payments. Now she is on total disability after being diagnosed with chronic emphysema.
“At the time the payments were so low that I was able to make them,” she said. “But then I had an emergency and had to refinance.”
The foundation’s (888) 995-HOPE hotline is available nationwide. Homeowners receive free, confidential advice and counseling from HUD-approved counseling agencies designed specifically to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Those who are in need of additional face-to-face counseling will be referred to their Urban League affiliate.
“There are real solutions that can prevent or stop the foreclosure process,” Buford said. “So many people are reluctant to call because they are embarrassed, but nobody wants to foreclose a home.”
An increase in foreclosures leads to an increase to social ills said Charles Bryson, neighborhood development executive with the mayor’s office.
Sayles Belton said a high rate of foreclosures also has an “adverse impact on the tax base.”
“Lenders, on average, lose $58,000 for each foreclosure,” she said.
“A city loses about $33,000 if a house is foreclosed,” Buford said. “The neighborhood loses and property values go down. The homeowner loses because their credit is messed up.”
Bill Pittman, community relations manager with Homecomings Financial, works with customers who are about to go into foreclosure. He said the idea that mortgage companies are eager to reclaim their property is untrue.
He said, “We are a subsidiary of GMAC, and I’m here for the specific purpose of stopping foreclosures in the St. Louis metro area.”
In fact, it was Pittman who encouraged Allen to call the HOPE hotline about his own impending foreclosure. He said that struggling homeowners are initially leery, but that he was there to “give them a comfort level and tell them to call me so we can work something out.”
Pittman’s advice to struggling homewoners is: “Call the lender first, because nine times out of 10 they’ll try to work with you.”
“Foreclosures usually can take quite a bit of time, but in Missouri the process can start after only 90 days,” he said. “Call your lender as soon as possible. Don’t wait 30 or 60 days.”
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing foreclosures and preserving homeownership. Founded in 2004 with a $20 million seed contribution from GMAC-RFC, a subsidiary of Residential Captial Corporation and one of the nation’s largest real estate finance companies, the Foundation partners with local and federal governments, community organizations and mortgage companies to offer creative solutions to preserve homeownership.
One Urban League representative summed it up by saying, “The real story is that, if you’ve missed two payments, call that number (888-995-HOPE).”
For more information, visit www.hpfonline.org or www.995HOPE.org.