Homeowners facing foreclosure do not have to struggle with the process alone.
That was the message local non-profit organizations shared with the public during a one-on-one foreclosure prevention forum on Tuesday, June 30 at the York College Atrium in Jamaica.
Gathered at York were organizations like the Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica (NHSJ), The Parodneck Foundation, and Chhaya CDC, who each had representatives available to give advice and information on how residents facing foreclosure could get help.
“Many homeowners are falling into the hands of scam artists who prey on desperation,” said Helen Maxwell, an NHSJ program coordinator and specialist in foreclosure. “Homeowners should not fall into these traps or pay for any services.”
According NHSJ, a non-profit organization that has provided free housing services for the past 35 years, the foreclosure process could range between 12 and 34 months before a home is sold or auctioned. During the process, homeowners incapable of paying their mortgage face large amounts of late fees as payments continue to come due. If action is not taken early, the mortgage servicer who collects the mortgage payments contacts the court and in a little as three months, homeowners could lose their home.
“Our goal is to help preserve the Queens community and help homeowners maintain their homes,” said Maxwell.
Another organization at the foreclosure prevention forum, The Parodneck Foundation, specializes in helping seniors.
“We help to accommodate seniors who are having trouble paying for their homes,” said Noemi Aviles, a foreclosure and default intervention counselor at the foundation. “If they can’t come to us, we can go to them.”
Aviles said that the foundation tries to create options for those homeowners facing foreclosure by informing them about some of the necessary steps they can take to keep their home, which include getting in-depth financial counseling, accessing community resources, working with their lender, getting information about the foreclosure process, and accessing to financial assistance.
In addition to the elderly, reports have shown that foreclosure has impacted primarily minorities and the neighborhood’s they live in. Organizations such as Chhaya CDC have dedicated themselves to working directly with such cases.
“We help all people of color and all immigrants,” said Afreen Alam, the program director at Chhaya CDC.
According to Alam, foreign born homeowners represent 40 percent of population that Chhaya CDC helps. “We specialize in helping the immigrant communities,” she said. “We have advocates all around Queens and we speak all South Asian languages.”
Non-profit organizations such as the NHJS, Parodneck Foundation, and Chhaya CDC are all available to help anyone who is facing foreclosure. Find them and other free foreclosure prevention organizations by calling the city’s 3-1-1 line.
