Gomes & Musto, Advocates, Detail Assistance Available for Those Facing Home Foreclosure

Greater Bridgeport continues to struggle with foreclosure crisis

Bridgeport, CT – August 26, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Nearly one in 12 homeowners in Connecticut in foreclosure or more than 90 days late on their mortgage payments, according to a recent report issued by the foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac. Connecticut currently has the 20th highest foreclosure rate in the country, and the city of Bridgeport has the highest rate of any city in the state, with 98 new foreclosure actions initiated in July alone.

Today, state Senators Ed Gomes (D-Bridgeport) and Anthony Musto (D-Trumbull) joined with advocates and service providers at The Workplace in Bridgeport to raise awareness of programs currently available to families and individuals that are facing home foreclosure.

“Foreclosure is a bad situation for families, for communities, for cities and towns and for our state,” said Senator Gomes, who serves as the Senate chair of the General Assembly’s Housing Committee. “It’s been a long, hard fight to stop the widespread foreclosures, and it’s a fight that’s far from over. The July numbers are a setback, but they reinforce the need to keep going and to keep spreading the word about the programs out there that can help people.”

“There’s a network of resources out there, but knowing where to turn, who you can trust and what’s available to you—especially when facing daily stress and fear—is extremely difficult,” said Senator Musto. “There’s mediation, there’s financial assistance, there’s job training, there’s nonprofit providers, and it can all be a lot to process. Today, we want to open a door to someone who might otherwise not know where to look for help.”

Several state and nonprofit services were highlighted today, including the:

* Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program, which provides training and employment assistance to individuals facing foreclosure who meet certain guidelines and are facing foreclosure due to unemployment or under-employment.
* The state’s mandatory foreclosure mediation program.
* Connecticut Department of Banking’s Foreclosure Assistance Hotline, (877) 472-8313.
* The CTFAMILIES and EMAP assistance programs.

“Connecticut is the only state that provides funds for education to assist people in mortgage crisis to pave their way out of foreclosure,” said Joe Carbone, president and CEO of The Workplace, which runs the state’s Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program. “The result of increased education is lower unemployment and higher earnings. We have received referrals from every community in our state. Folks are suffering and this emphasis on education as a solution helps them stave off foreclosure and keep their homes. The Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program has helped those at greatest risk of foreclosure stay in their homes and in their communities.”

“The mortgage crisis has worsened every year since 2003, and now, with nearly one in 12 homeowners in Connecticut in foreclosure or more than 90 days late on their mortgage payments, the foreclosure crisis shows little sign of abating,” said Jeff Gentes from the Connecticut Fair Housing Center. “But many free resources are available to today’s homeowners. The Connecticut Fair Housing Center holds a monthly clinic at the University of Hartford and works with housing counselors to offer similar clinics around the state. The center’s recently published manual, ‘Representing Yourself in Foreclosure,’ is another resource which assists homeowners without lawyers with navigating the foreclosure process. Homeowners can use the services of a free, HUD-approved housing counselor, and homeowners can participate in the Foreclosure Mediation Program and work with their lenders with the help of trained mediators.”

“Given the centrality of home ownership as a wealth-building and sustaining tool for the majority of American families, it is essential that we vigorously safeguard this privilege,” said Pastor Carl McCluster, state coordinator for Homes Saved by Faith. “Homes Saved by Faith has assisted more than 1,500 Connecticut residents over the past two years through services ranging from direct counseling to referral to HUD Certified counseling agencies like NHS of New Haven. We applaud the deep concern for Bridgeport residents that has led Senator Chris Dodd, Congressman Jim Himes, Senator Ed Gomes and the entire Bridgeport Delegation to advocate for programs and services that bring relief and encouragement to re-build our community through viable and sustainable homeownership.”

Under legislation passed in 2008, modified in 2009 and extended until 2011, homeowners in owner-occupied, one-to-four family homes who enter a foreclosure action participate in a mandatory foreclosure mediation program, which seeks to bring together borrowers and lenders to find a mutually agreeable settlement. More than 7,100 cases have completed mediation as of June 2010 and sixty-two percent of those cases—about 4,400—have allowed individuals and families to stay in their homes.

The program, administered by the Judicial Branch in 14 judicial districts, is available to homeowners who reside in a one- to four-family residential property. Mediation sessions address all issues including but not limited to reinstatement of mortgage, assignment of law days and sale dates, restructuring of the mortgage debt and foreclosure by decree of sale. The program has been touted as a national model in numerous recent studies. The Center for American Progress released a report, “It’s Time We Talked: Mandatory Mediation in the Foreclosure Process.” The report includes best practices and recommendations that come directly from Connecticut’s program.

For more information on the Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program, please visit www.workplace.org.

For more information the clinic and self-representation manual provided by the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, please visit www.ctfairhousing.org.

For a detailed list of state and federal foreclosure assistance program, please visit the Senate Democrat’s foreclosure resource page at www.senatedems.ct.gov/Mortgage.html.