Partnership Helps Homeowners Prevent Foreclosure in Long Beach, A Foreclosure Hotspot

Chase and Citi Mortgage work with nonprofit housing agencies to help homeowners with loan modification applications absolutely free.

Los Angeles, CA – February 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Los Angeles County NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions and The Long Beach Housing Development Company have partnered to help Long Beach residents become better informed about the foreclosure process and prevent foreclosure in 2011.  In the last two years, families in Los Angeles County lost their home to foreclosure every 15 to 18 minutes.  Dataquick Information Systems reports 26,703 Los Angeles County families lost their home to foreclosure in 2010.  High unemployment rates have weakened homeowners’ ability to stay current on their mortgage loans.  In addition, an increase in foreclosures is likely to occur in 2011 when $300 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages are expected to reset upward.

Currently, three Long Beach zip codes, which include North Long Beach, Downtown and Alamitos Beach, were ranked among the Top 50 ”Foreclosure Hot Spots” in Los Angeles County.  The table below summarizes the number of reported foreclosures in Long Beach and surrounding cities.

 The Center for Foreclosure Solutions and The Long Beach Housing Development Company urge Long Beach residents to attend one of the foreclosure prevention counseling workshops listed below.  All the workshops are from 6:00pm – 8:30pm and they are absolutely free.  Homeowners should bring their most recent mortgage statement(s) and a monthly budget to most benefit from the meeting with their lender and/or a foreclosure prevention counselor from a HUD approved housing counseling agency.

Foreclosure Prevention Workshops

•   February 16 at Community Grace Brethren Church, 5885 Downey Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90805

• March 16 at Antioch Church of Long Beach, 1535 Gundry Avenue, Long Beach 90813

• April 20 at Silverado Park Community Center, 1545 W. 31st Street, Long Beach 90810

• May 18 at Community Grace Brethren Church, 5885 Downey Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90805

• June 15 at Antioch Church of Long Beach, 1535 Gundry Avenue, Long Beach 90813

About Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services

In the last 26 years, LA NHS has reinvested more than $2.2 billion into neighborhoods throughout the county.  As a part of our work, we have developed and rehabilitated more than 12,200 housing and commercial units, put 2.1 million families on the road to homeownership, created 175 block clubs, and employed 200 neighborhood youth.  As a lender to underserved communities, we have maintained a loan portfolio with a 5% or less delinquency ratio and no foreclosures since inception.  In 2007, LA NHS established the Los Angeles County NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions to address the foreclosure issue. LA NHS is the largest, non-profit, affordable homeownership provider in Southern California.

About The Long Beach Housing Development Company

The Long Beach Housing Development Company (LBHDC) was established by the City of Long Beach in 1989 to assist in the creation and development of affordable housing.  The LBHDC’s mission is to provide safe and livable neighborhoods in Long Beach by promoting, developing, and preserving decent, safe and affordable housing for the very low- and moderate-income residents of Long Beach.

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Lorena Rodriguez
Development Assistant
Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services
3926 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90010
tel: 213.381.2862 ext: 218    fax: 213.381.2666
emails: lrodriguez (at) lanhs (dot) org   web: www.lanhs.org

Media Contact Only:
Liliana Argüello, LA Neighborhood Housing Services
Office: (213) 381-2862 ext. 216 ŸCell: 310-228-0959 Ÿ larguello (at) lanhs (dot) org

LaVerne Duncan, The Long Beach Housing Development Company
Office: (562) 570-3824 Ÿ laverne.duncan (at) longbeach (dot) gov