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Legal services for homeowners facing foreclosure

By Sharon Wills, RCAC public affairs specialist

RCAC corporate office, Christi Baker from Chrysalis Consulting Group, LLC, discusses when legal services might be needed for clients accessing foreclosure intervention counseling services

California foreclosure intervention counselors are now better equipped to make appropriate and efficient referrals for legal services to their clients based on what is available in their service areas. The last of six legal services trainings offered throughout California was held on June 18 at RCAC’s corporate office in West Sacramento. More than 150 representatives from nonprofit housing counseling agencies, local jurisdictions that conduct counseling and government agencies that operate in the foreclosure arena attended the sessions.

Providing assistance and relief to borrowers faced with defaults and foreclosures are pressing priorities in the United States. Acting as knowledgeable trusted advisors, housing counselors provide critical support for distressed homeowners in navigating complex negotiations with mortgage companies and/or servicers through the loss mitigation process. In some cases, borrowers may be victims of illegal practices and need affordable, specialized legal services – a limited resource in most states.

The course provides targeted and localized training for foreclosure intervention counselors on legal services resources. It was developed by California Reinvestment Coalition and RCAC for use in certain states where the program is beneficial. Foreclosure counselors are given information on basic federal and state laws that affect real estate and mortgage lending, and receive hands on experience looking for red flags in client documents that may indicate a referral to legal services is necessary.

Participants work together to problem solve during training in West Sacramento

A nonprofit attorney teaches the legal portion of each training, and an instructor facilitates the hands on case study work. A key workshop component provided to the counselors is a local legal resources list where they can refer troublesome cases. Some of the participants commented that after the training they were better prepared to “identify and refer cases that need legal help.” More than 90 percent of the participants rated the trainings as excellent.

The workshop is designed to supplement existing training opportunities for foreclosure intervention counselors and assumes that participants already have the basic knowledge and skills to successfully deliver counseling assistance to delinquent borrowers.

RCAC is looking for sponsors to assist financially in helping the program expand outside of California. In most states, only one event will be needed. Recently, RCAC received sponsors to support the training in Washington around mid September. Please contact Judy Hunter at 916/447-9832 ext. 1015 or e-mail her at jhunter@rcac.org, if you are interested in helping to sponsor training in your state.

Thank you to California Bank and Trust for its generous financial support, which made it possible to conduct the California trainings. Also, thank you to the nonprofit attorneys and others who devoted their time and input to develop and deliver the successful workshops.

Special thank you also goes to the foreclosure intervention counselors who are behind the scenes making a difference in the nation’s foreclosure crisis.

If you are a California homeowner in need of housing counseling, refer to the RCAC list of counselors in your area. For a list of HUD approved housing counseling agencies, by state, visit HUD’s national housing counseling database.

Please note that RCAC does not provide counseling services directly.

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