Michigan State University (MSU) Extension and Legal Aid and Defender Association Inc. (LAD) conducted a free workshop for residents of Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties on preventing home foreclosures on Tuesday, March 5, at Assumption Cultural Center in St. Clair Shores.
The workshop covered homeowners’ rights in the foreclosure process, effective strategies to avoid foreclosure and work out affordable solutions, and beneficial insights of housing counseling and home retention options.
The major problem facing home owners trying to modify their mortgage agreements to avoid foreclosure is that “there is no incentive for mortgage companies and banks to modify agreements instead of foreclosing because their losses are covered by insurance,” Kelly Bidelman, managing attorney of LAD’s Macomb County office, told workshop attendees.
“If you want to do something with the lender, you must do so before the foreclosure sale,” Bidelman said.
Bidelman told attendees to use home foreclosure counselors at nonprofit agencies such as MSU Extension because they have no financial incentive to seek modified mortgage agreements unfavorable to home owners.
“Our mission is to bring the research knowledge base of the university into the community,” Jean Lakin, extension educator in MSU Extension’s Macomb County office, told attendees.
“Every person’s situation is totally different,” Lakin said, so she and Bidelman offered to meet with attendees after the workshop to discuss their individual problems.
Most of LAD’s clients are low- to moderate-income people who qualify for LAD services under federal poverty guidelines, Bidelman told attendees at the workshop, “but there are higher income and asset limits for home foreclosures.”
MSU Extension “helps people improve their lives by bringing the vast knowledge resources of MSU directly to individuals, communities and businesses. For more than 100 years, MSU Extension has helped grow Michigan’s economy by equipping Michigan residents with the information that they need to do their jobs better, raise healthy and safe families, build their communities and empower our children to dream of a successful future.” For additional information, visit http://msue.anr.msu.edu.
