Pagedale – Living St. Louis Video

June 30, 2008

Jim Kirchherr visits Pagedale, a community in North St. Louis County. Pagedale is representative of many of St. Louis’ a post-war, blue collar post-war suburbs where the recent economic situation has lead to rising foreclosures. Kirchherr also attends a free foreclosure clinic in Jefferson County, where residents learn about resources available for assistance in facing their mortgage problems.

The Ripple Effect – Senator McCaskill Speaks out – The Beacon’s Coverage

June 30, 2008

“People are making assumptions that just certain kinds of people are in this position,” McCaskill said. “I think that people’s stereotypes kick in. I don’t think they realize that these distressed homes and families are all over the St. Louis area. From Chesterfield to South County to Warren County and St. Charles, there are homes facing foreclosure.”

McCaskill said the impact of the foreclosure crisis — which analysts predict could reach 3 million nationally — goes well beyond individual homeowners and is undermining the strength of the U.S. economy.

“There is this ripple effect that foreclosures have on the economy that we are focused on. This isn’t about a bailout for any individual. This is about what’s best for our economy so we don’t fall off the table into a full-blown depression,” she said.

“It’s hard for people because they’re used to operating within their lane. Can I pay my bills? And if I can pay my bills, why are we helping anybody who can’t pay their bills? This is not about staying in your lane. This is about our overall economic strength right now as a nation and the things we can do that help the credit markets stabilize, that help the dollar strengthen, that cut out some of the speculation in oil. All of those things need to happen, and this housing bill is just one part of that.”

McCaskill has sponsored a series of foreclosure clinics throughout Missouri, inviting nonprofit housing counselors, lenders and industry experts to share information and advice with homeowners who are concerned about their mortgages. The majority of those in attendance Saturday were the experts, which McCaskill attributed to the fact that many troubled borrowers are not comfortable attending a public gathering.

“What you don’t see in this room are the thousands and thousands and thousands of people who are just like you,” she said to the homeowners in the assemblage. “We estimate up to 20,000 homes in Missouri will face foreclosure before the end of next year. So, imagine if we had 20,000 people in this room what it would look like. You are not in this alone. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of others out there that have the same kind of challenges.”

Read the full piece and hear the Senator’s speech at the Beacon – Here

Video – Paying for Help?

June 29, 2008

Do you have to pay for help? Not-for-profit organizations will not change you a fee to assist you with attempting to avoid foreclosure of your home, but they will not offer you magic solutions, either. Generally, if someone if offering something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be suspicious of anyone contacting you and offering you assistance for a fee. To be put in contact with community organizations that can assist you in the Greater St. Louis area, you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1.

Video – Help Before I Buy?

June 29, 2008

Can I get help before I buy a home? Many of the same organizations that can help you if you are facing foreclosure also offer pre-purchase counseling to homebuyers. If you don’t understand the documents you are being asked to sign, seek help. In the Greater St. Louis area, you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1 for information about trusted community resources you can turn to.

Video – Housing Counselors

June 29, 2008

What do housing counselors do? Housing counselors will work with you and your lender to attempt to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties. The longer you wait to seek help if you have missed or are about to miss a mortgage payment, the harder it will be to find a workable solution. In the Greater St. Louis area, you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1 for information about trusted community resources you can turn to.

Video – Cash Help?

June 29, 2008

Is there cash help available? Some organization may have small sums that can help a homeowner fight foreclosure, but that money will only be made available to homeowners who are willing to face the underlying situations that have brought them to that point and can demonstrate that they are willing to take the steps necessary to avoid problems in the future. There are not free handouts. In the Greater St. Louis area, you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1 for information about trusted community resources you can turn to.

Video – Collection Notices

June 29, 2008

How should you deal with collection notices? If you are receiving collection notices regarding your home mortgage, you must realize that ignoring them will not make them go away. Open all the mail you receive from your lender and communicate with them about your situation work with them to find a solution. There are community organizations that can help you deal with your lender, but the longer you wait to seek help, the hard it will be to avoid foreclosure. In the Greater St. Louis area you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1.

Get all our Video/Broadcasts on the Mortgage Crisis on our YouTube Channel

June 29, 2008

Everything that we will broadcast on what is going on and how you can get and give help can be found on our YouTube Channnel here – you can subscribe to it and stay in touch more easily

Can you get help you trust? Yes you can – Here is how

June 29, 2008

Below is an excellent article in the Beacon that will give you the picture on how you can get help that you can trust. The article is full of useful advice. Here is the core information on how to get help you can trust:

Homeowners in the St. Louis area seeking foreclosure help can contact the United Way, which will put them in touch with the St. Louis Alliance for Homeownership Preservation, a coalition of nonprofits pooling their expertise. The alliance includes: ACORN, Better Family Life, Beyond Housing, Catholic Charities and the Urban League. The numbers to call are: 2-1-1 from a Missouri home phone or 1-800-427-4626 from Missouri or Illinois.

Homeowners who call the national hotline may be referred to the local agencies for more specialized help or, possibly, financial assistance. The national hotline has no money available, Hernandez emphasized.

Hernandez said efforts to convince people to call for help sooner rather than later are paying off. About one-third of the hotline’s callers aren’t yet 30 days delinquent on their mortgages, which means more options. She points to an industry statistic that half of the people who lose their homes to foreclosure don’t talk to their lenders.

“It’s stunning that the trust is so little that they just feel like there is no point,” Hernandez said. “When the research was done to ask people why they hadn’t talked to their lender, most of them said, ‘There’s no point. They have no flexibility in dealing with me. If I don’t come up with the money, they’re going to take my house. If I call, they’ll just know more about my situation and just take my house faster.’ That is not accurate, but people really believe it.”

The foundation’s partners include community-based nonprofits, local and federal governments, government agencies and mortgage companies.

The foundation also works with the HOPE NOW Alliance, an effort backed by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that attempts to get lenders and nonprofit housing counselors to work together. The alliance was put together by the Bush administration after the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market.

Video – How Long do I Have?

June 29, 2008

How long do I have before I lose my home? In Missouri, you could conceivably lose you home 21 days after you have missed your third payment. In Illinois the process generally takes longer. Regardless, the sooner you seek assistance if you have missed or are about to miss a mortgage payment, the more likely that you can negotiate a solution with your lender. In the Greater St. Louis area, you can call the United Way’s helpline at 1-800-427-4626 or 2-1-1 for information about trusted community resources you can turn to.