Search continues for home foreclosure relief

Four years ago, 48-year-old Antonio Evans decided to settle in a home on the outskirts of Ward 7. He took out a sub-prime loan with adjustable rates. However, his mortgage payments ballooned shortly thereafter, and he could not keep up with the payments. Evans told the District Chronicles that he called his lender numerous times to delay the looming foreclosure and to renegotiate the loan terms. He wanted to keep his home, but every time he contacted his lender, their customer service representatives offered no relief.

Howard Amer, associate commissioner of the Banking Bureau in the D.C Government Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, says that stories like Evans's are too common these days. The number of consumer complaints, inquiries and requests for relief have increased from approximately 100 formal complaints and written documentation in 2007, to over 200 in 2008 so far.

"There is a dramatic need to address this problem," he said, pointing to a study his agency issued at the end of June.

Foreclosure rates during a one-year period ending in February of 2008 in the Washington D.C area were 15,613 homes, giving the region one of the fastest-growing foreclosure rates in the nation, according to the study.

Wards 4,5, 7 and 8 are hurting the most, with 366 home foreclosures in May 2008, compared to 281 foreclosures for all of 2007.

The hefty 168-page study was led by the Center of Responsible Lending, and is a part of a broader consumer protection initiative on behalf of the Government of the District of Columbia.

"We now have a clearer picture on the make-up of the vulnerable populations in the District of Columbia and where they reside," says DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton. "The key focus of this document is to assist our citizens by educating and empowering them on how to deal with this particular problem in order to cut abusive practices."

David Brewer, chairman of ANC 8B, agrees. "I think education is the best way to go," he says. "The mayor needs to have a broad public conversation or get the information through blogs or email to inform people about foreclosure."

Philadelphia Sheriff John Green has taken foreclosure relief a step further. He has stopped enforcing foreclosure notices.

"More of our neighbors, our families and our friends are falling behind on their mortgages and losing their homes to sheriff's sale," Sheriff Green writes on his website, www.phillysheriff.com. "My staff and I watch the suffering every day and witness the heart-wrenching scenes as families lose their primary means of wealth-building and face eviction."

In Philadelphia, the number of sheriff's sale properties has increased from an average of 300 to 400 a month to more than 1,000. The city's broad and diverse networks of Housing Counseling Agencies and Credit Counseling Services have been the city's front-line defense, but their staffs are overloaded and increasingly frustrated by realms of red tape. They have been slowed by the proliferation of voice mail and procedural barriers, Sheriff Green said.

Sheriff Green has also launched a three-point plan to stem the rising tide of foreclosures in Philadelphia and keep credit-worthy borrowers in their homes. First, the plan proposes a massive publicity campaign to alert borrowers who are falling behind in their payments to steps they must take to delay foreclosure and negotiate a suitable repayment plan.

Second, the plan calls for creation of a community-wide coalition to look at short-term and long-term legislative solutions dealing with issues such as attorney fees and the need for third-party loans to help provide temporary mortgage assistance to FHA borrowers.

Third, the plan seeks to rally community support and provide immediate relief in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest.

"That's crazy," Brewer said of Sheriff Green's bold attack on the foreclosure beast. "It's a good idea, but a crazy one. "Brewer said Green is taking a big bold step in what he is doing and thinks it needs to be done. "In the end, it all falls back on educating the mortgage loan consumer," he said.