News
Bakersfield teams up with Fed Reserve to host mortgage borrower outreach event
Faith in Action Kern County, June 15, 2009
In June, PICO affiliate Faith In Action Kern County, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development hosted a mortgage borrower outreach event conducted by HOPE Now at the Rabobank Arena. This was an opportunity for hundreds of borrowers at risk of home foreclosure to meet face-to-face with national lenders.
A Bit of Hope
Last Christmas, the Hernandez family faced a huge, stressful problem; they were facing foreclosure. Gloria Hernandez, the family matriarch, had recently lost her job. Her husband David worked for a car dealership where sales had dropped drastically and, as a result, hours were cut.
The southwest Bakersfield family, who hadn't ever been late paying their bills, suddenly found they were unable to make their $1900 monthly mortgage payment. It was not a very merry Christmas.
Gloria and David did every thing they could to save their home. The called their bank, Countrywide, almost every day. "We sent hardship letters, but they said there was nothing they could do. They told us to rent out a room or get a second job," Gloria remembers.
The Hernandez family, with three kids ages 16, 11 ½, and 7 years, feared the worst. "I said, ' I think we need to pack up and move,'" said David. But where? Gloria had a bit more hope, " If God gave us this house, and if it was meant for us to have it, we will be okay."
Then in June, already at the end of their rope, Gloria and David heard about the HOPE Now outreach event at the Rabobank arena. There, they met face-to-face with a loss mitigation officer to discuss their situation and explore options. After reviewing the Hernandez's documents, the bank representative told them they would qualify for a loan modification. Within 10 days they received loan modification documents in the mail. They are now paying $1, 258 a month with a reduced interest of 4.5 % for the first five years, and 5.37% thereafter.
"Like they said, there was Hope," exclaimed Gloria, " I was so happy. David was not stressed out anymore, he actually had a smile on his face!"
Also at the HOPE Now event, another Hernandez family: Alex and Roxanne Hernandez from Arvin, California. Alex and Roxanne, along with their two kids, ages 5 and 7, had lived in their home for a little over three years. But Alex, a union carpenter, found himself out of work for over four months. "Work was good, then I got laid off. Since I am the main provider, we went into a big spiral. I went from making $1400 a week to $400 in unemployment," Alex recounts. With all the other living expenses, it became difficult to make their $1800 a month house payment.
Things got very tight, and scary, very quickly. Roxanne says, " Everyone was stressed, even my kids. My 7-year-old said, ' we're going to be homeless. I don't want to be homeless, I want to live in this house.'"
Alex and Roxanne met with a representative from SunTrust during the HOPE Now event. The representative asked Alex to send check stubs as soon as he began working again. The family qualified for the federal government's Making Home Affordable Program, and the bank agreed to modify their loan. In their 3-month trial period, the Hernandez family pays $1105 a month at a 2% fixed rate.
Alex and Roxanne, once putting mortgage payments on credit cards to stay current, were breathing a bit easier. "It's a big relief," Alex exclaimed.
Faith In Action Kern County has heard a number of success stories of families saving their homes from foreclosure. For over a year, a team of Faith In Action grassroots leaders from St. Joseph's Parish has led a campaign to bring more resources to Kern County to help families facing foreclosure.
In February 2009, the group led a 700 person community action meeting at St. Joseph parish with representatives from local and federal agencies, including HUD and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The group won commitments from all agencies to work together to help quell the growing number of foreclosures in Kern.
As a result, several banks and national organizations have visited Bakersfield to help local families. In June 2009, HOPE Now, a national network of lenders, partnered with Faith In Action to hold a borrower outreach event at the Rabobank Arena. In August 2009, Chase Bank held a workshop on the Making Home Affordable program for local non-profit and government leaders.
Along with the Hernandez family, The Walker family found help at Faith In Action's events. At the Rabobank Arena in June, T. Walker spoke with her lender, Wachovia, about a pending loan modification application. A state employee, Ms. Walker's salary had been cut so much she was no longer able to make her $1800 monthly mortgage payment. "I was about to lose my home. I pay my taxes and never had any problems. I began to worry," Walker said.
The bank informed her that they needed a second approval of a loan modification. They got it on the spot. "I felt so joyful when I left. I called all my friends and told them to get down to Rabobank Arena," said Ms. Walker. She now pays an $1150 monthly mortgage payment, at a 5% interest rate, a $650 a month reduction.
The Andrade family, in northwest Bakersfield, has a similar story. Earlier this year they saw their income drop. Karina Andrade, a real estate agent, saw the market slow down dramatically. Her husband, a contractor, felt the pinch as well. It became virtually impossible for the family to make their $3200 a month mortgage payment.
