by SpringFour | Jun, 12, 2011 | Default
When it comes to large, complex problems, the search for simplicity sometimes leads to the search for who’s to blame.
The housing crisis, now entering its fourth year, is no exception. Did homeowners use credit unwisely? Did the financial institutions make foolish investments? Did the government ignore the warning signs and drop the ball on their role as regulator?
Yes to all…and no to all.
All are innocent. All are at fault. All at the same time.
We all want the silver bullet–the solution to the crisis that ends it quickly and finally. Sadly, despite Herculean efforts and experimenting, this hasn’t been found.
We are of the mind that solutions for homeowners may be modest and simple. For example, some folks who have used MortgageKeeper’s database to find referrals to local organizations for help have saved up to $250 per month on their monthly budgets. For some, that’s made it possible to qualify for a loan modification, pay their current mortgage, heat their home, or feed their families.
Many mortgage companies have solutions out there that are working. The government is re-tooling their efforts. And homeowners are learning that if it is too good to be true, it probably is. No doubt the lessons we are learning will make us stronger, and while they might not end the housing crisis with one blow, perhaps with many small steps we’ll all end it together.
by SpringFour | May, 25, 2011 | Default
We see the photos and watch the videos, but in person, it’s all different. Last week, two of us here at MortgageKeeper saw parts of our own city destroyed when an F2 tornado hit the north side of Minneapolis.
Thousands of homes, apartment buildings, and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Add to that power outages, gas leaks, and tragic loss of life and property. More than 2,000 people are temporarily homeless.
What struck me with this latest disaster was the benefits of local, neighborhood assistance in the 24 hours after the tornado touched down at 2:15 CT last Sunday afternoon. The Facebook entries from the City of Minneapolis relate the following, after the first responders cleared the area:
4:15 pm: a shelter was set up at a local armory, and busses were running between the shelter and the affected neighborhood. The shelter offered food, medical care, mental health counseling and chaplain services.
5:00pm: the local 311 number for the City, usually closed Sunday afternoon, was up and running to take non-emergency calls.
8:00am, next morning: Two community organizations had set up clearinghouses for volunteers and donations.
Other help came within 24 hours of the tornado touchdown:
* Animal Care and Control offered no-cost kenneling to victims
* The Salvation Army created a drop off point for food, clothing, and supplies, and opened a mobile canteen.* Community development agencies publicized free computer and phone access
And this is just a taste of how many organizations jumped into the phone booth and emerged ready to take charge.
Of course the federal and state agencies arrived on the scene as quickly as possible. But it was the neighborhood organizations–the local folks–who brought the goods and the comfort that were appropriate, fast, and, well, neighborly.
Now, odds are good that unless you live in Minnesota, you haven’t heard much about our natural disaster. An F4 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, later that same day, and (rightly) pushed us out of the news. Local help is making a difference there, too.
In fact, when we think of any disasters–natural, or man-made–local help usually gets there faster and knows the need better than help from larger entities like the state and federal governments.
The current mortgage crisis is no exception.
Local help is a great way to reach struggling homeowners, helping them right their financial ship and keep their homes. Intuitively, we know this. But sometimes it takes other disasters to remind us of the potency of the locals.
(Here’s how to donate to help those in Joplin and Minneapolis.)
by SpringFour | Apr, 28, 2011 | Default
Way back before getting tangled in the mortgage biz, I had a great summer job with the U.S. Census Bureau. My title? “Non-Response Follow-Up Enumerator.” (Best job title ever!)
I was assigned to Hispanic neighborhoods in Aurora, Illinois, to complete census forms for households that hadn’t responded to the Census mailing. I was a young, white, upper middle class kid from the Chicago suburbs who spoke not a lick of Spanish. But it didn’t matter.
At house after house, I was invited in and offered a cool drink to ward off the hot summer sunshine. I was treated as an honored guest, which gave me the confidence I needed to ask the tough questions on those long Census forms.
With the children in the household translating, I learned about their lives (birthdays, countries of origin), but also about their homes. Number of bedrooms. Age of the house. Mortgage payments. Utility costs. The works.
What the forms didn’t ask, but became clear to me as a guest at those kitchen tables, was the pride these homeowners had in their homes. It was palpable. I remember thinking that they had a far better understanding of the American Dream than I did.
A recent poll points to that dream becoming more illusive for the Hispanic population. More than 1 in 3 Hispanic homeowners worry about losing their home in the next year. And since minority groups tend to have 2/3rds of their savings tied up in home equity, this could mean less money for education, retirement, and healthcare.
It’s never been more important to reach out to the Hispanic population, in their own language. MortgageKeeper is doing its part, now translating its 20+ service category, 6,000+ agency database into Spanish. Financial institutions, foreclosure counseling services, and others are recognizing this need and throwing more funding and support behind the Hispanic population.
No one can deny that the American Dream of homeownership has taken a beating–especially among Hispanics and other minorities. But this poll revealed another interesting statistic: 40% of those questioned believe the Dream can be achieved without owning a home.
Do you think that the American Dream requires homeownership? Tell us what you think.
by SpringFour | Apr, 10, 2011 | Default
It’s the total number of vending machines in the world.
…the population of Uganda.
…and, according to Harris Interactive, the number of US mortgage holders who are having difficulty making their payments.
Even for those of us who make it our business to know about struggling homeowners, 32 million is a shocking number. It means odds are quite good that you personally know someone who could be sliding toward foreclosure.
As a company that helps businesses help struggling homeowners, we here at MortgageKeeper did a little research ourselves.
We found that of the 1,500 people daily who use our database of 6,000 vetted nonprofit and government agencies, about 20% were searching for help with heat and utility payments.Another 18% were looking for food assistance.(You may wonder where the big category—job assistance—landed.The answer:third.)
So the stats are showing that there are an awful lot of people looking for help. Basic, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs-type of help.
But if we can satisfy those basic needs—get those 32 million the help they need to relieve the financial pressure that boils over into no heat, no food, no jobs—we might be on to something.
Know of nonprofit in your community who is meeting basic needs with professionalism and great customer service? Let us know about them.
(And welcome to our blog! More to come!)
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