If you're in financial trouble and are afraid you could lose your home... call the Pikes Peak Foreclosure Prevention Partnership. The free, non-profit service pairs you with a counselor who can help you deal with your lender.
The last thing you want to do is trust the wrong person. Take it from Cynthia Glen of Colorado Springs. She says an investor told her... he'd sell her home.. Instead she says he took over rights to her home, moved in a tenant, and started collecting rent. In the end... both tenant and homeowner felt ripped off.
Also, be careful of those promising loan modifications. They're very complicated procedures and often unscrupulous sellers will demand thousands upfront and not deliver.
Jodi Gelerter with Pikes Peak Foreclosure Prevention Partnershi says, "We tell people there's no such thing as a guarantee on a loan modification. You have to work with the service lender and oftentimes people who are selling those services... a homeowner can do that."
Jodi says it's important to communicate with your lender, ask what your options are... check out your lender's programs... and seek help from a non-profit housing counselor... like the Pikes Peak Foreclosure Prevention Partnership.
Jodi says lately... there's been disappointing news as far as federal and state foreclosure help. Two new programs don't seem to be having an impact at all.
The first is the Obama administration's "Make a Home Affordable."
Jodi says the problem there... folks who thought they could reduce their monthly house payments by a 1/3rd found they simply coudln't qualify.
She adds, "People didn't realize there were other criteria to be considered such as their other debt and their financial needs so when you look at the whole picture, it's not as easy to fit that."
And a Colorado law which allows qualified homeowners to postpone or defer mortgage payments also has turned out to be a dud.
El Paso County Public Trustee Tom Mowle says of 640 El Paso County properties marked as eligible... only 10 have been certified.
As far as foreclosure stats... El Paso County is on track to set an all-time record for filings. Right now more than 4,106 notices have been filed, but that number's expected to hit 5,000 by the end of the year.
If you're looking for housing help... attend a free workshop this weekend at the Hillside Community Center on South Institute.
Reps from the Colorado Attorney General's office will be there as well as the El Paso County Public Trustee, real estate attorneys, and financial experts.