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So you know ...
Additional information is available at these Web sites:
• Oregon Department of Justice: http://tinyurl.com/yz79zuy
To report a company or individual that may be engaged in mortgage or foreclosure rescue scams, call (877) 877-9392.
• Hope Now: www.hopenow.com
Provides counseling help for homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments.
• Making Home Affordable: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov
Provides information on the Obama administration plan to modify payments for struggling homeowners. Others who are making regular payments but whose home values have decreased, making it difficult to refinance, may also be eligible.
• Consumer Reports: http://tinyurl.com/lca9vc
Article on how to pay down your debt.
• Oregon Department of Justice: http://tinyurl.com/yz79zuy
To report a company or individual that may be engaged in mortgage or foreclosure rescue scams, call (877) 877-9392.
• Hope Now: www.hopenow.com
Provides counseling help for homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments.
• Making Home Affordable: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov
Provides information on the Obama administration plan to modify payments for struggling homeowners. Others who are making regular payments but whose home values have decreased, making it difficult to refinance, may also be eligible.
• Consumer Reports: http://tinyurl.com/lca9vc
Article on how to pay down your debt.
Linda Smith watched as the unemployment rate in Douglas County more than doubled between May of 2008 and this past March.
The rate climbed during that period from 8.5 percent to 18.5 percent. Smith, executive director for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Douglas County, knew that the rising unemployment rate would mean more and more residents would find it hard to keep up with their bills.
She expected to see an increase in the number of people who would turn to her agency to stop accumulating new credit card debt and to help pay off their creditors. Surprisingly, that hasn't happened.
“Frighteningly, it's lower,” Smith said. “I don't know whether they've given up or whether they're filing for bankruptcy.”
Although the unemployment rate has fallen since March and stood at 14 percent in September, it's still up considerably since last year, when the Douglas County rate averaged 9.8 percent.
While the agency, located at 849 S.E. Mosher Ave. in Roseburg, was assisting 36 clients in April, the number has fallen to 20 this month.
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which has more than 100 affiliates and more than 900 local offices, including the Roseburg agency, suggests that people having trouble making payments contact their creditors as soon as they begin experiencing problems. Although it can be tough to admit to financial difficulties, most creditors want to work with their customers and ensure they get paid.
That's because by law companies must write off accounts as bad debt after six months of missed payments. When handed over to collection agencies, card issuers earn as little as 6 cents on the dollar for the amount collected, according to Consumer Reports. That's half the amount received before 2008.
As a result, banks are more open to accepting settlements for 50 percent of the balance after an account has been delinquent for 90 days, Charles Phelan, a former debt-settlement company executive who founded ZipDebt.com, told the magazine.
To take advantage of a settlement, a customer would have to come up with a lump sum or several large monthly payments. The action would result in having that account closed and a negative reporting on a credit report.
If the amount of debt forgiven exceeds $600, it could also be taxed as income.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service affiliates negotiate with creditors to lower card interest rates and to accept a lower monthly payment. It works with clients to establish a monthly budget that allows money for regular household expenses and money for debt payment. The agency charges a nominal fee to set up a debt repayment plan and for providing the monthly service.
There are 240 homes in Douglas County that have been repossessed and are currently owned by banks, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., company that monitors the housing market. More than a third of those, 85, have been added to the foreclosure list since August.
Another 291 properties have received default notices, placing them in pre-foreclosure status. In addition, 67 distressed properties are listed for trustee sale.
Homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments should also speak to their lenders when they first experience a problem, experts advise.
A total of 7,560 Oregon homeowners have taken advantage of a home loan modification program offered by the Obama administration. Under the Making Home Affordable program, struggling homeowners with mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac have an opportunity to cut their payments to guard against getting behind and sending their homes into foreclosure.
The Oregon Department of Justice warns homeowners to beware of any company offering to stop the foreclosure process no matter what or who advises you against contacting your lender, attorney or credit or housing counselor.
There are many scam artists looking to prey upon desperate people, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has warned in a press release. Homeowners have been asked to make mortgage payments to con artists who pose as debt-help companies, rather than continuing to make payments to their lender. They've also been asked to transfer a property deed to such a company or asked to rent their own home so they can buy it back over time.
All of those are ploys meant to fraudulently obtain title to a home, Kroger said.
“When the economy worsens, and people are threatened with losing their homes,” Kroger said in the release, “they often get desperate, which puts them at extreme risk for fraud.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
The rate climbed during that period from 8.5 percent to 18.5 percent. Smith, executive director for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Douglas County, knew that the rising unemployment rate would mean more and more residents would find it hard to keep up with their bills.
She expected to see an increase in the number of people who would turn to her agency to stop accumulating new credit card debt and to help pay off their creditors. Surprisingly, that hasn't happened.
“Frighteningly, it's lower,” Smith said. “I don't know whether they've given up or whether they're filing for bankruptcy.”
Although the unemployment rate has fallen since March and stood at 14 percent in September, it's still up considerably since last year, when the Douglas County rate averaged 9.8 percent.
While the agency, located at 849 S.E. Mosher Ave. in Roseburg, was assisting 36 clients in April, the number has fallen to 20 this month.
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which has more than 100 affiliates and more than 900 local offices, including the Roseburg agency, suggests that people having trouble making payments contact their creditors as soon as they begin experiencing problems. Although it can be tough to admit to financial difficulties, most creditors want to work with their customers and ensure they get paid.
That's because by law companies must write off accounts as bad debt after six months of missed payments. When handed over to collection agencies, card issuers earn as little as 6 cents on the dollar for the amount collected, according to Consumer Reports. That's half the amount received before 2008.
As a result, banks are more open to accepting settlements for 50 percent of the balance after an account has been delinquent for 90 days, Charles Phelan, a former debt-settlement company executive who founded ZipDebt.com, told the magazine.
To take advantage of a settlement, a customer would have to come up with a lump sum or several large monthly payments. The action would result in having that account closed and a negative reporting on a credit report.
If the amount of debt forgiven exceeds $600, it could also be taxed as income.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service affiliates negotiate with creditors to lower card interest rates and to accept a lower monthly payment. It works with clients to establish a monthly budget that allows money for regular household expenses and money for debt payment. The agency charges a nominal fee to set up a debt repayment plan and for providing the monthly service.
There are 240 homes in Douglas County that have been repossessed and are currently owned by banks, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., company that monitors the housing market. More than a third of those, 85, have been added to the foreclosure list since August.
Another 291 properties have received default notices, placing them in pre-foreclosure status. In addition, 67 distressed properties are listed for trustee sale.
Homeowners having trouble making mortgage payments should also speak to their lenders when they first experience a problem, experts advise.
A total of 7,560 Oregon homeowners have taken advantage of a home loan modification program offered by the Obama administration. Under the Making Home Affordable program, struggling homeowners with mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac have an opportunity to cut their payments to guard against getting behind and sending their homes into foreclosure.
The Oregon Department of Justice warns homeowners to beware of any company offering to stop the foreclosure process no matter what or who advises you against contacting your lender, attorney or credit or housing counselor.
There are many scam artists looking to prey upon desperate people, Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has warned in a press release. Homeowners have been asked to make mortgage payments to con artists who pose as debt-help companies, rather than continuing to make payments to their lender. They've also been asked to transfer a property deed to such a company or asked to rent their own home so they can buy it back over time.
All of those are ploys meant to fraudulently obtain title to a home, Kroger said.
“When the economy worsens, and people are threatened with losing their homes,” Kroger said in the release, “they often get desperate, which puts them at extreme risk for fraud.”
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
