For a few hours on Oct. 11, a long line of despair and hope defined the scope of the current foreclosure crisis.
The line began inside the Braude Constituent Service Center on Van Nuys Boulevard and stretched south for more than a block, despair giving way to hope as the line inched forward.
Big signs advertised that ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- Housing, along with the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, were holding a free foreclosure prevention fair to help homeowners at risk of losing their houses make adjustments to their loans.
That caught the attention of Raul Rodriguez, owner of the Ranch House BBQ & Grill, located just across the street.
He bought his Chatsworth house nine years ago, taking out a 30-year, fixed-rate loan. A few years later, he wanted to lower his payment, so he refinanced into an adjustable-rate loan.
That interest rate will soon reset upward and, with it, his monthly house payment. Rodriguez said it will soar from $2,500 to $4,500.
He's not in trouble -- yet. He joined the line as a pre-emptive strike against trouble that's sure to come.
"I want to see if I can work something out," he said. "I hope to at least keep the same payment I have now or lower it."
Inside, the line was orderly.
Homeowners registered, then waited to have their loan documents and other paperwork scanned into a computer. Then they waited to talk to a loan counselor or, in some cases, a public interest lawyer.
But few got definitive answers.
Socorro Sanchez got an adjustable-rate mortgage to buy her Panorama City home about three years ago for $500,000, As the loan reset and her monthly payment jumped from $3,000 to $3,900 -- which she can't afford -- the value of her home plummeted.
She's near the end of the foreclosure process. Her house was scheduled for a trustee sale, but that's been postponed while she seeks assistance.
She hopes to find out her status this week.
"I'm just trying to get a renegotiation of my loan, but I don't know if I can do it," she said. "I have other properties. This one is the worst mistake I've ever made."
These kinds of foreclosure fairs are becoming commonplace.
In the second quarter of 2008, lenders seized a record 2,084 homes across the San Fernando Valley, according to the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at California State University, Northridge.
There were 1,767 foreclosures during July and August, so another record is likely when third-quarter numbers are tabulated.
ACORN spokesman Peter Kuhns said that nearly 700 homeowners showed up Oct. 11.
"We weren't surprised," he said of the turnout. "Every time we do it, there are more and more people."
Copyright © 2012 Keller Williams VIP PropertiesPortions Copyright © 2012 a la mode, inc.Another XSite by a la mode, inc. | Terms of Use| Site MapAll rate, payment, and area information are estimates and approximations only.
