Jackie Duran, Director of Homeownership Training, and Omar Restrepo (right), Foreclosure Prevention Specialist, have a lot to smile about.
With several hundred phone calls coming in weekly as a result of
proactive measures set up to help homeowners who are in foreclosure trouble, NHS is immersed in foreclosure screening and triage. While a
few calls have come from as far away as Sarasota and Palm Beach County, most are from Miami-Dade and Broward.
Teaming up with national resources, NHS is partnering with NeighborWorks®
America’s AD Council Campaign and the HOPE
Hotline.
Formal area partnerships include the Hispanic Coalition and the Opa Locka CDC.
Referral sources come from the following banks and organizations throughout Miami-Dade and Broward: Bank United, Citibank, HSBC, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., Legal Services of Greater Miami, Expert Mortgage, Onyx Mortgage, Ponce De Leon Mortgage, World Wide Mortgage, AltaVista Financial, American Home Mortgage, Aqua Development, and A1 Trust Mortgage.
In the mix of an avalanche of calls from local homeowners as a result of the Ad Council, HOPE Hotline, or website searches, NHS has also been contacted and interviewed by the foreign press, who flew in to cover the South Florida crisis as their “international story.” Broadcasters include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, TV 3 in Barcelona Spain, Miami-based Univision 23 and Telefutura 69, among others. While this did not result in local victims coming forward, it was good press for NHS and for NeighborWorks® America.
Senior citizen Rosa Butler, a monitor technician at a local hospital, almost lost her home recently. With the “wolf at the door”, she kept a cool head when foreclosure loomed on the horizon. Totally unaware that her homeowners insurance and real estate taxes would skyrocket at the same time her children requested financial help, Butler naturally proceeded to assist her children. Almost immediately she received the alarming paperwork about the unexpected increases that threatened to displace her from her home purchased in 1975.
Not one to be paralyzed with denial or fear, the plucky senior called Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), a not for profit housing organization that specializes in foreclosure intervention and mitigation. Citing a foreclosure article in the Miami Herald, she was able to get into their office quickly.
NHS foreclosure prevention specialists, trained by NeighborWorks®America to negotiate real-time solutions, reviewed her situation and negotiated a plan that involved contacting her lender to set up a realistic payment schedule. Within three weeks she was back on her feet financially. Butler expressed her concern about frightened residents who are unaware of services that could pull them out of their foreclosure crisis. She stated: “People should call to try out the services at NHS. I was shocked at how quickly my situation was resolved. I can sleep very well at night now.”
A back injury, time off work, and sporadically received worker’s compensation
landed local minister Marvin Miller, his wife Sharon, and their four children in a similar cauldron.
After two months off the job with reduced income from worker’s compensation,
Miller quickly called his mortgage company, trying to stay on time with his mortgage payments. He was told he “…did not meet the criteria plan for repayment.” His
lender refused to work with him.
“It was discouraging but we kept faithful to God in giving to others during this time,” the 49 year-old minister explained.
Calling NHS, Miller met with NHS foreclosure prevention specialists who worked diligently with him to pave the way for him to get back on track financially.
Arden Shank, Neighborhood Housing Services Executive Director and President stated: “Our foreclosure prevention specialists work very hard to resolve foreclosure crises with our clients. The sooner people call, the better. If homeowners wait too long, their situation can lessen negotiation options. We hope that more people will have the courage to call us as soon as they get into trouble.”