Event Offers Help For Struggling Homeowners

"We can put light where there's darkness, and hope where there's despondency in this country. And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home."

- President George W. Bush, Oct. 15, 2002

“The Bush administration took a lot of pride that homeownership had reached historic highs. But what we forgot in the process was that it has to be done in the context of people being able to afford their house. We now realize there was a high cost.”

-John W. Snow, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from February 2003 to June 2006, in an interview with the New York Times, Dec. 21, 2008.

In the early-to mid-2000s, inspired by their government and encouraged by the easy availability of mortgage loans, millions of Americans who never thought they would be able to own a home jumped at the chance to buy into the American Dream.

But since 2008, that dream has become a nightmare for many. Whether suffering the outright loss of a job, reduced hours or cuts in pay, millions of once-enthusiastic homeowners are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to make their monthly mortgage payments.

Nearly 100 homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure may have found a little help at a hosted by State Sen. AJ Wilhelmi (D-Joliet) and State Rep. Emily McAsey (D-Crest Hill) at in Romeoville Saturday morning.

Organized by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), the Dec. 10 event featured free mortgage counseling, representatives of various mortgage lenders and advice on avoiding mortgage fraud.

The event was the 26th stop in Gov. Pat Quinn’s mortgage relief project, in conjunction with the Obama administration’s “Making Homes Affordable” program for homeowners in danger of foreclosure.

The state effort was designed to assist struggling homeowners work with their lenders to establish a trial loan-modification period, in which homeowners may be able to negotiate a lower mortgage payment for a period of 90 days and promise to make three consecutive payments on time.

Homeowners tell their stories

Patch interviewed several homeowners Saturday morning as they waited to talk to mortgage counselors. The names have been changed at their request to protect their anonymity.

“John” was proud to buy a home in Crest Hill four years ago, making his down payment from wages he earned as a custodial maintenance worker for Naperville School District. With secure employment and a good paycheck, the strapping man in his early 30s was confident he was ready to settle into responsible home ownership.

But then, the bottom dropped out of the economy and last March, John lost his job of 13 years.

“I thought I had a secure job,” John said. “I was making good money.”

And although he feels lucky to have found employment just a month later, John soon found himself struggling to make his $1,000-per-month house payment.

“It’s been rough,” John said. “I found another job in April, but it’s for $6 an hour less, with no benefits. Now, I don’t make as much money and I have to pay my own health insurance, which costs a lot.”

“Evelyn,” a professional woman in her early 40s, lives in Bolingbrook in a home she purchased nine years ago.

Evelyn had a well-paying job as a sub-prime lender for a financial institution, where she felt proud to help people achieve their dreams of owning their own homes.

But four years ago, she lost her job when the term “sub-prime lending” took on a decidedly more negative connotation.

“I’m employed full-time now with another financial institution,” Evelyn said, “But I’m making about a third of what I used to make with my previous employer.”

On Saturday, she was hoping to negotiate a trial modification to get her mortgage payments reduced so she can keep her home. Having worked in the financial industry for a decade, Evelyn was a little embarrassed to find herself in such a position.

“I recently got into a financial bind,” Evelyn said. “I guess I just lost track of my own responsibilities. But I hope the lenders understand our situation and are able to work with people to not kick them out of their homes. I would think it would be better for the banks to take something rather than nothing. Besides, we all suffer when homes sit empty.”

The determined homeowner said she was not looking to place blame for her situation, and appreciated the opportunity to try to improve it.

“I don’t think the government realized the impact (of the mortgage loan crisis) and they are trying to figure out what to do now,” she said.

Evelyn said she hoped more homeowners who are finding it difficult to make their mortgage payments will learn that they don’t have to just sit at home and wait for a foreclosure notice to come in the mail.

“These programs need to be more widely known,” Evelyn added. “I work in the industry and I only found out about this program through an email from my boss.”

“Katherine,” a soft-spoken single woman in her 50s, lives in Glendale Heights and works for a printing company in Bolingbrook.

Her hands were shaking as she waited to talk to a loan counselor, hopeful that she would be able to “work something out” so she could stay in her home.

She said her paycheck had been cut by 10 percent when the economy took a downturn last year, and now “times are really tight” for her and her dog.

“It’s just me and my four-legged friend,” Katherine said. “But I’ve had to cut into my savings to pay the mortgage, which costs $600 a month.”

Maria speaks only Spanish, so she brought her teen-age daughter, Elena, along to translate.

“My dad lost his job in April of last year,” Elena said. “Me, my sister and my mom and dad live here in Romeoville. We came here to try to get some help.”

Through her daughter, Maria said she felt the mortgage counselor with whom she had met had been helpful. She left clutching nearly a stack of nearly 40 pages of forms to take home, read and fill out in an effort to negotiate a temporary loan modification with her lender.

Help is available

Wilhelmi said he was gratified that so many people had turned out for the program in Romeoville Saturday. He said a recent event in Joliet had drawn nearly 300 homeowners.

That figure is not surprising, according to Roxanne Nava, director of the state’s division of financial institutions, who said Will County has the fourth highest rate of foreclosure in Illinois.

“It can be paralyzing when you realize you are in danger of losing your home,” Nava said. “But if you talk to a counselor one-on one, you have a 60 percent chance your mortgage will be in a better situation.”

Citing a recent report from the Woodstock Institute (www.woodstockinst.org.), a nonprofit research and policy organization based in Chicago, McAsey said the number of foreclosures in Will County is actually on the decline.

“We are at the center of the storm in the housing crisis,” McAsey said. “With job loss, under-employment … as I knock on doors, I see many homes our friends and neighbors used to live in. We’re trying to turn the page on that. We want to keep our community stable.”

“In most cases, lenders will want to work with homeowners to avoid foreclosure,” Wilhelmi said. “They'd much rather modify loan terms for a borrower than try to recover their money by selling the house.”

McAsey and Wilhelmi encouraged homeowners who are having difficulty keeping up with their mortgage payments to contact their lenders to see if they can modify the terms of their loan — and to seek further help if that doesn’t work.

“Our offices are always open — if you need us, please, just reach out and call us,” Wilhelmi said.

Wilhelmi’s district office is at 2200 Weber Rd. in Crest Hill (815-207-4445) and McAsey’s district office is at 416 N. Weber Rd. in Romeoville (815-372-0085).

For more information or to find a free, government-sponsored housing counselor, visit www.idfpr.com, www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/index.html, www.hud.gov/local/il/homeownership/hsgcounseling.cfm or www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.