Foreclosure fight goes neighbor-to-neighbor
There’s no hiding from home foreclosure. Ignore it, and it will not go away.
So when Bank of America reported that, in certain neighborhoods, only 10 percent of homeowners respond to notices that their mortgage payments are 60 days overdue, a very basic strategy suggested itself.
Photo: David McDowell
Livia Villarreal, director of the Southwest REACH Center, hands Robert Grossinger of Bank of America the first 16 loan Modification Applications from the outreach partnership between Greater Southwest Organizing Project, Neighborhood Housing Services and the Bank of America.
But just how does one “get to” at-risk borrowers, many of them recent immigrants with limited English and/or financial literacy? Obviously, not with envelopes alone.
Up close and personal
On Nov. 10 Bank of America, which holds or services hundreds of delinquent mortgages on Chicago’s Southwest Side, announced it would try something different in partnership with Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS) and NCP lead agency Greater Southwest Development Corp.(GSDC).
More than 500 non-responsive homeowners in Zip code 60629 are getting a second notice – this time delivered by FedEx, and this time followed-up with an in-person visit by a neighborhood volunteer trained to explain what’s at stake and how best to respond.
Photo: David McDowell
The agreement between BofA and SWOP grows out of negotiations held last July both inside and outside St. Nicholas’ rectory.
Earlier this fall, some 60 volunteers attended training sessions at St. Rita of Cascia and St. Nicholas of Tolentine Churches. Each was provided a training kit and the names of at-risk homeowners to contact.
“These aren’t mortgage experts,” said Villarreal of the visitors, “just neighbors, or someone from their parish or their children’s school, who can explain neighbor-to-neighbor why it’s important to contact the bank and see what can be done.”
Early results encouraging
Early indications are that one-on-one works. At the Nov. 10 press announcement, barely a week into the program, organizers handed 16 homeowner responses to BofA.
Photo: David McDowell
Second notices delivered by Fed Ex and an in-person visit are part of the prescription to fend off mortgage delinquency among "high risk" borrowers.
The main thing, said Villarreal, is to approach people in a non-threatening way so that, if they have an income, they’ll at least make an attempt to save their homes. The agreement grows out of negotiations held last July at which some 200 neighbors kept vigil outside, while inside St. Nicholas’ rectory neighborhood leaders implored BofA executives to step up.
Tim Maloney, BofA’s Illinois president, praised how the new approach “works hand-in-hand with trusted community partners to contact homeowners and develop workout solutions for the benefit of families and communities in need.”
“We’re stepping out of our comfort zones,” added Betty Gutierrez, a volunteer visitor from St. Mary Star of the Sea parish. “It’s families reaching out to families that help make a neighborhood strong.”
The pace of home foreclosure filings has slowed somewhat in the city—down by 10 percent in this year’s third quarter compared to last year’s, but the drop may be due to longer notification periods required by the state and county prior to foreclosing.
Statewide, Illinois saw nearly 20,000 foreclosure filings in October, according to RealtyTrac, a number surpassed only by California and Florida. As unemployment worsens the biggest gains are occurring in wealthier areas, such as Lake County, which saw an 83 percent jump during the third quarter of 2009 compared with the third quarter of 2008.
More information: Greater Southwest REACH Center, 773-735-6727
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