La gente indocumentada de comunidades como La Villita y Las Empacadoras siguen perdiendo sus casas al foreclosure a comparación con el resto de la ciudad, y es que a veces no saben pedir ayuda. En La Villita, Enlace Chicago provee consejeria y recursos para residentes que están en esta situación y hay programas para ayudarlos. Foreclosure filings are down by a third in Chicago, but the housing recovery is slower on the South and Southwest Sides. One factor could be additional challenges faced by undocumented homeowners in obtaining loan modifications, local housing counselors say. But community organizations that provide free foreclosure prevention services warn residents against fraudulent foreclosure rescue operations that demand large upfront payments. South and Southwest Side neighborhoods had the smallest drop in foreclosure filings over the past year, according to the Woodstock report. Back of the Yards and Little Village only saw 27.6 and 29.2 percent decreases, respectively. Citywide, filings were down by 34.3 percent since 2013... There are a number of things at play, said Adrian Esquivel of Enlace’s Housing Resource Center, who is a board member at Woodstock. What we’ve seen citywide is that when anybody [undocumented] applied for a loan modification, they were denied flat out, he said. And if you’re undocumented and you have the language barrier, it’s hard to keep going. He added that larger lenders are no longer offering mortgages to undocumented homebuyers using taxpayer identification numbers. Local banks like Second Federal Savings in Little Village were the first to approve undocumented homebuyers for mortgages through their taxpayer identification numbers, or ITINs, and these homeowners generally stayed current on their mortgages, Esquivel said. About ten years ago, at the height of the housing boom, large commercial banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo decided they wanted to do business with the undocumented community. But they lent to ITIN holders at much higher interest rates, even in precarious situations where there was only one low income supporting the household, Esquivel said. Undocumented homeowners are not eligible for assistance from the Illinois Housing Authority’s Illinois Hardest Hit program, which offers low- and moderate- income families help with mortgage payments. But there are local organizations that provide free foreclosure prevention counseling to residents without regard to their status. Organizations like Enlace in Little Village, The Resurrection Project (TRP) in Pilsen, Neighborhood Housing Services in Back of the Yards, and Brighton Park Neighborhood Council provide homeowners at risk of losing their homes with help in obtaining loan modifications... Pilsen resident Salvador Corona Garcia, 73, said he received letters from five or six attorneys offering help when his home went into foreclosure after he became ill, lost his job, and fell behind on mortgage payments. But they wanted to be paid thousands of dollars in fees first. I did not have it, he said. Garcia eventually went to The Resurrection Project for free assistance, and over the course of several months he was able to work with his mortgage lender to keep his home. Lua said that he has seen increased cooperation from mortgage lenders. After housing counselors work with a client to get their paperwork in order and come up with a plan for the borrower, they can usually put a hold on a foreclosure sale. Garcia had advice for other individuals in a similar situation. Seek help, he said.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 19:00:01 +0000
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