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ACORN aims to end city's foreclosure crisis

Iasia Martin (center) stands in front of the home her ill grandmother is losing through foreclosure. She is seen with Candace Lopes and Edgardo Figuero of State Sen. Stephen Buoniconti's staff. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs
By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



SPRINGFIELD Iasia Martin stood in front of the home at 66-68 Clifton Ave. and remembers it as the place she grew up. Today, the young woman is trying to deal with the impending foreclosure of the home that belonged to her grandmother, who now is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The Springfield chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was telling Martin's story last week as a way to point to the foreclosure crisis in the city and specifically in the 01105 zip code, which has the highest foreclosure rate in the Springfield area.

Martin's grandmother, Agatha Cotten, had paid off two mortgages on the property when in 2005 she received a home equity line of credit from Chase Bank, Martin said.

Cotton was already beginning to suffer from dementia and Martin said she couldn't understand how any loan officer wouldn't recognize there was a problem.

Martin takes care of her grandmother in a rented property located up the street and was granted power of attorney in 2007. She has not been able to reach any agreement with the lender, though, that would allow her time and resources to fix up the home.

The payments for the loan went from just over $500 to about $800 a month and Martin said her grandmother receives $1,000 a month.

Since moving her grandmother out due to her health condition, Martin said the home has been boarded up; its copper piping has been stripped by thieves and has sustained water damage. The vandalism to the home's plumbing caused a $10,000 water bill, she added.

ACORN has been working nationally with lenders to prevent foreclosures and to give homeowners the opportunity to stay in their homes, Hina Sheikh, the head organizer for the Springfield chapter, explained. She was not sure what could be done to help Martin at this time.

Candace Lopes and Edgardo Figuero of State Sen. Stephen Buoniconti's staff attended the meeting and Lopes said that Buoniconti plans to move forward in the next session with legislation to further address the issue of foreclosure. She said that Buoniconti has worked to help set up the foreclosure assistance center operated by HAP, but wants to do more.

According to figures supplied by ACORN, the foreclosure crisis is expected to worsen within the next two years as more than two million families face the possibility of losing their homes due to subprime mortgages being reset to higher rates.

Sheikh said that last year ACORN was able to help 4,000 families avoid foreclosure nationally and this year the goal is 20,000 households. Locally, ACORN sponsored a home ownership/foreclosure prevention fair at the High School of Science and Technology on Saturday to help homeowners rewrite their loans.

Sheikh said that any homeowner who is concerned about the threat of foreclosure should call 737-0169.