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| City hosts foreclosure workshop |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Friday, 09 May 2008 | |
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At a glance
WHAT: Foreclosure informational workshopWHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday WHERE: Patterson City Council chambers, City Hall, 1 Plaza INFO: 895-8020 Patterson might not receive much notice from most residents in Stanislaus County, but it contains some of the county’s worst foreclosure statistics. As of March 26, the city had 1,020 homes in the foreclosure process — one home for about every 20 residents, according to Teresa Salas, assistant planner and housing program coordinator for the city of Patterson. That compares to about one in 40 in Modesto and one in 35 in Stockton. However, local residents who find themselves stuck in an unfavorable loan may be able to get some help, as the city of Patterson is co-sponsoring a foreclosure informational workshop at City Hall on Wednesday. “I think it’s of the best interest of the city that citizens not be displaced,” said Patterson Mayor Becky Campo, who works in the mortgage industry. Campo said she and three other council members attended a meeting hosted by the League of California Cities in early April and learned about similar workshops being hosted in the area. The No Homeowner Left Behind meeting series is a collaborative effort of Stanislaus County, United Way of Stanislaus, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater. Locally, NHLB has hosted several workshops at Harvest Hall on Crows Landing Road in Modesto, attracting more than 1,000 people. While those workshops had lenders on hand to help attendees with loan documents, the Patterson workshop will be strictly informational and provide opportunities to pick up more resources. Salas said a future meeting could be set up with lenders if there is enough local demand. Regardless of whether that happens, attendees can still go to an upcoming workshop at Harvest Hall, she said. A translator will be on hand Wednesday, and Spanish speakers can use special headpieces to hear the presentation. Campo said she wished she could be involved in a Spanish-only presentation, but she plans to attend Wednesday’s workshop to see how it goes. She said it was important to have the workshop locally. “The reality is there is going to be another round of foreclosures,” Campo said. Patterson lenders and real estate agents certain have their share of horror stories, too. Those include homeowners who steal fixtures from their homes, folks committing fraudulent acts and others who are simply walking away from their mortgages. “People are just walking away because they don’t want to pay,” said Peter Kovacs, managing partner of Guild Mortgage, which has an office in Patterson. “It’s just a very short-sighted approach.” On the flip side, he said the market finally appears to be picking up, as homes have become affordable for people with lower incomes. In addition, some lenders are willing to make deals to avoid a foreclosure that would create problems for lenders and homeowners alike. Kovacs has been to recent foreclosure workshops in Modesto and Tracy, and he said he has seen a mix of emotions, ranging from frustrated to optimistic. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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