Marlene Santiago talks to a client about difficulties with repossession during an individual session at Neighborhood Housing Services of Silicon Valley in San Jose Thursday. Santiago is one of two counselors helping out people who are or maybe facing foreclosure.
A homeowner came by Marlene Santiago's office two days before the sale of her home due to foreclosure, and the intervention counselor was able to stave off the inevitable by convincing the lender to hold off.
J.R. Wheelwright teaches an "in-depth" Saturday class that goes over the homebuying process so that homeowners such as the one Santiago saw don't end up the casualty of predatory lending. He sees about 60 people each month.
The duo of Santiago and Wheelwright are the faces that will greet you if you attend individual counseling sessions offered by the Neighborhood Housing Services of Silicon Valley, or one of the 20 group classes the organization is offering in San Jose through June. As the housing market nose dived in mid-2007 amid the collapse of sub-prime lending business, millions of people throughout California - and even in more affluent communities such as Morgan Hill, as well as Gilroy and Hollister - have defaulted on their mortgage loans and face foreclosure because they couldn't make payments on time.
The situation is "crazy" and "staggering," said Gilroy-based real estate investor Richie Chavarria. He said there are so many homes on the market that banks are having a difficult time selling them. Both the banks and the homeowners should work with each other to put a freeze on the next interest rate hike, and then set a steady rate. "That would clear up a large percentage of the foreclosures," Chavarria said.
With these scenarios playing out in the background, Neighborhood Housing Services is one of the few nonprofits to offer education to foreclosure-affected homeowners and those that are considering buying homes, be they foreclosures or not.
"We get into issues around foreclosure prevention to help families that are in trouble," said Ed Moncrief, the nonprofit's director. The nonprofit's Web site is www.nhssv.org.
Current and future homeowners alike are welcomed at the nonprofit's offices in San Jose and at several satellite sites that are offered through partnerships with local community groups. But South County residents whose homes are in foreclosure or may be in danger of being in foreclosure will have to trek to San Jose - because the nonprofit doesn't have a presence here. If South County community groups express interest in hosting, some classes could be taught in Morgan Hill, Gilroy or Hollister, Moncrief said.
The nonprofit isn't the only organization pushing education as the solution to the problem. The Santa Clara County Association of Realtors is doing so as well.
"Getting educated is really important," said Shanna Boigon, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Morgan Hill and spokeswoman of the South County branch of the Realtor's association. "Some education will help people save their homes. Many people do not understand the detail and issues surrounding a foreclosure so (SCCAR) along with other groups are holding classes in all areas of this issue."
Santiago holds one-on-one sessions with homeowners at the nonprofit's office, 1156 N. Fourth St. San Jose, and so does Wheelwright.
RealtyTrac, a Web site that tracks the housing market, reports that zip code 95037 - which spans from Morgan Hill to San Martin - has 225 homes that could face foreclosure.
Although the homes are in default, there is a chance that they may still be refinanced, said Garrett Toy, director of the Morgan Hill Business Assistance and Housing Services Department.
"Morgan Hill has about 12,000 households of which over 70 percent are owner occupied," Toy said. "It's difficult to compare data between areas because of data sources. I would say Morgan Hill's rate is similar to the overall rate in Santa Clara County."
In Gilroy and Hollister, RealtyTrac's Web site Thursday showed 447 and 567 homes, respectively, in pre-foreclosure.
Keith Pelaiz, an employee at Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Morgan Hill who commutes from Hollister, said he'd like to attend the classes in San Jose but "it would be pretty tough for me to attend" because of work obligations. The father of three said he is renting but was considering buying a house.
At the same time, he was also realistic.
"I don't want to put myself in position where all I'm doing is paying my mortgage," he said.
Nemesio Naranzaso, a computer technician who owns a home in Blossom Hill area of San Jose with his wife, said he came to Neighborhood Housing Services not because he was facing foreclosure, but because he was concerned with his sub-prime refinance loan. Because his family put money down up front, Naranzaso said he's trying to glean information that can help him avoid facing foreclosure like his cousins in the Antioch area had to deal with.
Although the nonprofit counseling helped him see the picture clearer, Naranzaso said his mortgage loan has changed hands several times and that the rates changed as well.
He said although the nonprofit helped, it was really up to the lending banks to decide which way it will go.
"Unless the other end of the people are willing to help, there's really not much (Neighborhood Housing Services) is able to do," Naranzaso said.
Slav Kandyba Slav Kandyba covers Morgan Hill and county issues for South Valley Newspapers. Reach him at 779-4106 or e-mail him.
POST A COMMENT
If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate.
Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.
San Benito Score: Boys and girls soccer and Mid-Cals
