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Managing Editor SPRINGIELD Log onto www.foreclosurelistingsnationwide.com and it's easy to see how great a problem foreclosures are in the four western counties of Massachusetts. According to the Web site's most recent listing, there are 2,641 homes in foreclosure just in Hampden County alone. Officials gathered at Springfield City Hall on Wednesday to announce the kick-off of the Western Massachusetts Foreclosure Prevention Center, a state-funded initiative through the Division of Banks and the Department of Housing and Community Development. The center will help people who have lost their homes, people who are currently in foreclosure and people who fear the consequences of a change in an adjustable mortgage. The center can be reached through its Web site, www.theresHopeWM.org, or by phone at 233-1622. Peter Gagliardi, executive director of HAP Inc., the administrative agency for the program, said that there were 146 foreclosures in Hampden County in 2005 and that number has jumped to over 400 in 2007. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno called foreclosures "a cancer." The center was created through legislation passed last fall and Undersecretary Daniel Crane of the Department of Consumer Affairs said it was one step the Patrick Administration has taken to address the growing problem. Another initiative has been the 90-day Right to Cure that provides a time for borrowers to work with lenders to prevent foreclosure, he said. The legislation also stipulates that mortgage originators be licensed, he added. Massachusetts Fair Housing Center will be providing free legal help as part of the center's services, Gagliardi said. Donna Cabana, one of the HAP foreclosure counselors, explained that a number of factors could place a home in foreclosure from the death of a family member to divorce, from job loss to a predatory loan. She said that many homes in trouble have a mortgage with a high interest rate that is from multiple re-financings or from home equity loans. "People shouldn't be using their home to pay off their credit card debt," she said. Cabana emphasized that a homeowner who fears problems should contact the center, not just the person who is facing foreclosure. "The thing to remember is that help is a phone call away," Gagliardi said. The program is a collaboration between the city of Springfield, the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, Acorn Housing, Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority, Berkshire Housing Development Corp., Chicopee Neighborhood Development Corp., Franklin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Hilltown Community Development Corp., Holyoke Housing Authority, Hungry Hill Community Development Corp., North End Housing Initiatives, Solutions Community Development Corp., Springfield Partners for Community Action and Valley Community Development Corp. | ||||||
