Birmingham

Free seminar helps homeowners avoid foreclosure

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

BIRMINGHAM — In addition to damaging credit and creating other monetary troubles, losing a home to foreclosure can cause physical and emotional strain on a displaced person or family.

Leaders in Oakland County and Birmingham have teamed up to provide a free foreclosure intervention and prevention seminar, called “My Home – My Future,” Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Baldwin Public Library, 300 W. Merrill in Birmingham.

Hosted by Oakland County Commissioner David Potts, the city of Birmingham, the Baldwin Public Library, the Oakland County Community and Home Improvement Division, Lighthouse Community Development, the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency and LaSalle Bank, the seminar is open to all Oakland County residents.

While many people think the economy isn’t affecting those in Oakland County, Potts said the county isn’t bulletproof, and many people have had to deal with the reality of losing their home.

“As of Nov. 15 of this year, there have been 64 foreclosures in the city of Birmingham alone. That’s a significant number. That’s up dramatically, because through the end of July, there were 37, so the rate of foreclosures in Birmingham is accelerating,” Potts said.

Baldwin Public Library Head of Adult Services Lois Griffin believes the glut of foreclosures could potentially lower property values in all of the communities in the county.

“For anyone who is faced with the possibility of losing their home, it is quite frightening … even residents who own their homes outright or don’t have trouble making mortgage payments have a stake in resolving the escalating problem,” she said.

Three housing counselors, representing three certified U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development housing counseling agencies, will explain what community members can do to preserve home ownership.

“The idea is to get families to understand how to protect their most valuable asset, which is their home. That’s a big deal, as far as I’m concerned. These people have most of their equity, most of their retirement, in the equity in their house, and if they’re at risk of foreclosure they’re at risk of losing many things,” Potts said.

The presenters — Senior Housing Counselor Kathy Williams of the Oakland County Community and Home Improvement Division, Manager of Financial Counseling Greg Sterns of Lighthouse Community Development and Resource Development Coordinator Tamara Orza-Ramos of Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency — will discuss topics such as budgeting, credit, choosing the right mortgage when refinancing, steps to stop the foreclosure process and what to do after the foreclosure process has started.

“Essentially it will give a snapshot of the process of what happens during a foreclosure, plus it will give people leads on where to go to find the right service. Each person is different, but we think that we’re going to give enough information so it leads people to the right agencies to get the help that they need,” Griffin said.

Beginning in 2007, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson initiated free foreclosure intervention and prevention seminars to help families protect their home — due to rising foreclosures in Oakland County. To date, seminars have been held in Ferndale, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pontiac, Southfield, Farmington Hills, South Lyon, West Bloomfield, White Lake Township and Waterford.

For more information, call Oakland County Housing Counseling at (888) 350-0900, ext. 85402, or visit www.oakgov.com/chi.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mary Beth Almond at malmond@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1060.