Event attempts to curb foreclosures locally

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The City of Rochester, along with much of the rest of the country, is facing damaging numbers of foreclosures due to subprime and other predatory loan types.
This Saturday, The Housing Council of Rochester will host its first foreclosure prevention event, designed to offer homeowners the opportunity to talk with foreclosure prevention counselors and attorneys about opportunities to avoid foreclosure.
Representatives from Empire Justice Center, NeighborWorks Rochester and Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation will be on hand to offer their expertise. Alex Castro, executive director for the Housing Council, said recently the event will allow at-risk homeowners to get help immediately without making appointments or worrying about paperwork.
“People can just come in and talk with a counselor one on one to see if they need any further assistance,” Castro said. “Because Empire Justice will be there, attorneys will be able to help when predatory lending is detected by a counselor.”
Castro said the goal of the event is to make it easier for consumers to get assistance.
“We’re compressing what we do on a daily basis,” said Rebecca Case-Grammatico, another attorney at Empire Justice Center who focuses on predatory lending.
Earlier this year, Empire Justice released data on subprime loans provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as of October 2007. According to the data, 4,707 subprime loans were made in Monroe County. By October 2007, 1,302 loans (28 percent) were in jeopardy of default. Specifically, 1,014 loans were more than 30 days behind in payments and 288 already were in foreclosure. In addition, 16 percent of the subprime mortgages have adjustable interest rates that will reset before Oct. 1, 2009.
The City of Rochester has recorded 13,384 foreclosures in the past 10 years.
“Such a horrific situation is going on, and the crisis is getting bigger and bigger,” Case-Grammatico said. “Thankfully, I think Rochester is very well positioned to handle these cases.”
Case-Grammatico also said Saturday’s event is a first attempt at opening the door to the public and will be largely focused on getting homeowners back on track.
“It’s less of an information gathering session and more of getting folks in the door and talking to a housing counselor who is going to be able to advise them on what budgeting is and give them tools on how to handle their mortgage,” she said.
The event will be held at The American Red Cross, 65 College Ave. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Those planning to attend are asked to bring the most recent mortgage statements.
For more information call (585) 546-3700 or e-mail AvoidForeclosure@TheHousing Council.org.