Foreclosure Prevention and Foreclosure Intervention

The sooner you take action, the sooner you can regain your peace of mind.

We provide a safe alternative for families who purchased homes and who now are in over their heads with credit issues, unaffordable mortgage payments, or faced with foreclosure. Perhaps you had a situation where you missed mortgage payments and you need to get back on track. The challenges can be overwhelming. Job loss or a reduction in income can be devastating to families resulting in the loss of their home. Some buyers obtained loans with very attractive interest rates and terms when they purchased the home. Unfortunately, the "devil was in the details" and the blessing at the time turned into a nightmare. How do you cope with balloon payments or new monthly payments requiring hundreds of dollars more a month?

Prevention

Our foreclosure prevention program is designed to identify homeowners with high risk mortgage products and provide these homeowners with needed information and options before delinquency and default become an issue. The program is jointly developed with the Montgomery County Recorder and funded in part with a private grant.

Intervention

Our foreclosure intervention program provides help to Montgomery County homeowners that are having problems making mortgage payments or are facing the possibility of losing their homes. The intervention process works with mortgage institutions to modify mortgage terms or provide viable alternatives to foreclosure. It reflects our commitment to the Ohio Save the Dream initiative and the Making Home Affordable Program.

If you are facing foreclosure it is stressful and can be very confusing, but there is help.

CountyCorp is reaching out to those homeowners who need help in deciding what to do with their housing situation. The first question we ask you is do you want to keep your home? Homeownership is not for everyone, and you may need help on how to proceed to get out of your mortgage. Many homeowners wish to remain in the home as owners. The process takes commitment and effort. CountyCorp does not charge for the counseling services, and this is available to any resident who lives in Montgomery County.

WANT HELP? Call 531-7028 to schedule an appointment and request an Intake Packet.

The homeowner must complete an Intake Packet in order to qualify for assistance. The information on this form helps us assess your situation. Please complete the intake form as instructed, and this will keep the initial meeting to 45 minutes. The expected outcome of our initial meeting with you will be to develop a strategy on how to best deal with your situation. Some of the options available to help get you on the path to return to a solid financially viable future are:

• Reinstatement: Your lender may be willing to discuss accepting the total amount owed them in a lump sum by a specific date. They will often combine this option with a forbearance.
• Forbearance: Your lender may allow you to reduce or suspend payments for a short period of time after which another option must be agreed upon to bring your loan current. A forbearance option is often combined with a reinstatement when you know you will have enough money to bring the account current at a specific time in the future. The money might come from a hiring bonus, investment, insurance settlement, or a tax refund.
• Repayment Plan: You may be able to get an agreement to resume making your regular monthly payments, in addition to a portion of the past due payments each month until you are caught up.
• Mortgage Modification: If you can make the payments on your loan, but you do not have enough money to bring your account current or you cannot afford the total amount of your current payment, your lender may be able to change one or more terms of your original loan to make the payments more affordable. Your loan could be permanently changed in one or more of the following ways:
  • Adding the missed payments to the existing loan balance.
  • Changing the interest rate, including converting an adjustable rate into a fixed rate.
  • Extending the number of years you have to repay.

CountyCorp can also refer you to Pre-Foreclosure Legal help that is available free of charge prior to the actual “Complaint” being filed by the mortgage servicer, regardless of household income.

Foreclosure Legal Assistance is available free of charge to borrowers who qualify based on income. Participation in housing counseling is required.

What is a foreclosure?

Foreclosure is a legal action used by a mortgage company to recover any money from a customer when the customer does not pay his or her debt in accordance with the mortgage agreement. In other words, it's the legal remedy used by a mortgage company to assume ownership of a property when the required loan payments are not made. Foreclosure inflicts serious damage upon your personal credit score so a decision regarding foreclosure should not be taken lightly.

Tips to Avoid Foreclosure

• Don’t ignore the problem. The further behind you become, the harder it will be to reinstate your loan and the more likely that you will lose your home.
• Contact your lender. They have options to help.
• Open and respond to all mail from your lender or legal notices.
• Do not move. If you move you may lose options that are available to you to save your home and you incur additional liability.

CountyCorp’s Foreclosure Prevention and Intervention also offers Community Outreach. At CountyCorp, Alfred Patterson, Jr. works to educate residents on how to prevent foreclosure and advises them on how to work with lenders to avoid losing their homes. Mr. Patterson provides a comfort level for property owners who are intimidated by the process and helps remove the pain by giving them an understanding of the processes. Mr. Patterson is available to speak at group meetings. He can be contacted at CountyCorp at (937) 531-7046 or email: apatterson@countycorp.com.

Additional Resources

Graceworks
If you need help with Debt Consolidation, Reverse Mortgage Counseling, Bankruptcy Counseling and Education, or Credit Repair, please contact Graceworks Lutheran Services at graceworks.org or

3131 S. Dixie Drive, Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45439
(937) 643-2227
Fax: (937) 643-9970

Predatory Lending Solutions
Do you think you might be a victim of predatory lending? Are you uncertain as to whether a mortgage you are considering is a predatory loan? Get information about predatory lending by visiting www.dontriskyourhome.com or call the Predatory Lending Solutions hotline at 937-222-9671, a service provided by the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center.

2123 East Babbitt Street
Dayton, Ohio 45405
(937 )223-6035
Fax: (937) 223-6279

Making Home Affordable
The Obama Administration has introduced a comprehensive Financial Stability Plan to address the key problems at the heart of the current crisis and get our economy back on track. A critical piece of that effort is Making Home Affordable, a plan to stabilize our housing market and help up to 7 to 9 million Americans reduce their monthly mortgage payments to more affordable levels.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program gives up to 4 to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac an opportunity to refinance into more affordable monthly payments. The Home Affordable Modification Program commits $75 billion to keep up to 3 to 4 million Americans in their homes by preventing avoidable foreclosures. For urgent help call: 1-888-995-HOPE

http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

Ohio Save the Dream
Ohio Save The Dream grew out of recommendations from the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force created by Governor Ted Strickland. The website provides information and highlights programs you can use to help save the dream of homeownership. Here you can learn about available resources, the value of working with local housing counselors, and the importance of contacting your mortgage servicer.

http://www.savethedream.ohio.gov

Dial 2-1-1 For Help
United Way’s HelpLink Staff are available 24 hours a day to consult with you and direct you to the agency best suited to meet your need.

http://www.dayton-unitedway.org/foreclosure.php

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
For the latest news in foreclosure alternatives with HUD visit: http://www.hud.gov/news/

CountyCorp’s Home$aver Program is a partnership with Montgomery County Recorder’s Office, Montgomery County, and The Ohio Housing Finance Agency who fund the program. In 2007, Mr. Blackshear, County Recorder, began working with the State of Ohio’s Treasurer’s Office to notify residents of the potential high risk situation they were in with their mortgage by a direct mail campaign to homeowners. Recognizing that the foreclosure problem affects all neighboring property values and in some cases presents a blighting hazard, Blackshear raised funds from private donations to help CountyCorp combat the problem.

No One Ever Told Me That: Things You Should Know About Your Money

As part of the continuing Mortgage Crisis project, ThinkTV and WYSO Radio have been producing public service announcements and stories on financial literacy, under the banner, "No One Ever Told Me That: Things You Should Know About Your Money." The public service announcements and stories, along with additional resources, are available at http://thinktv.org/money/index.html.