PORT ANGELES — Homeowners facing foreclosure have several options and can get help as long as they are willing to help themselves, according to material that will be presented in two workshops on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“We let people know all the options available and which will be best for them,” said foreclosure counselor Marvelle Lahmeyer of American Financial Solutions in Bremerton, who is conducting both seminars, one in Port Angeles today and another in Port Hadlock on Thursday.
“But they will need to call the lender and take the first step,”she said.
The first seminar — which will include advice about how to deal with a foreclosure — will be from noon to 2 p.m. today in the Port Angeles City Council Chambers, 325 E. Fourth St.
The second seminar will be from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock.
‘Brutally honest’
Lahmeyer said she is “brutally honest” with her prospective clients and sometimes advises them that the best option is for them to just walk away from the property.
But if the finances pencil out and the loans can be renegotiated, she will help find a solution.
Throughout, she practices a brand of tough love.
“We get hundreds of applicants, and we tell them exactly what they need to do to get out from underneath a foreclosure,” she said.
“But we don’t tell them twice.”
The seminars are sponsored by Olympic Peninsula Community Action Programs.
Seminars needed
OlyCAP’s operations coordinator Peter Badame said the seminars are needed “because there are no foreclosure counselors in East Jefferson or Clallam counties.”
The nearest counselors who have been approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — or HUD — are in Hoquiam or Bremerton, although both conduct business online and over the phone.
Badame and Lahmeyer both said that people often wait until the last minute before seeking help because they don’t believe that foreclosure can actually happen to them.
And both said that it needs to be taken seriously.
When coming in to see a foreclosure counselor, people need to bring all of their loan documents, bills and “every piece of paper they have received about the debt,” Badame said.
Lahmeyer understands the shame of a foreclosure but said “you need to measure that against what is best for your family.”
Lahmeyer advised against paying anyone to get out of a foreclosure.
The best counselors, she said, are HUD-certified and available for free.
Free advice
Lahmeyer said it can take six months or more to get out of a foreclosure, and the mortgage mounts up during that time.
But homeowners who achieve “under consideration” status are likely to keep their homes.
“The banks don’t want your house,” she said.
“They would much rather have you in the house paying off the loan, even at a lower interest rate.”
This lower rate is often temporary, returning to the regular rate in a year or two.
Lahmeyer said that anyone facing foreclosure should call her office at 888-864-8699.
“We usually can get back to people the same day, but it’s been very busy lately,” she said.
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
