Sweet Orange

On February 11th, the Orange County Home Ownership Preservation Collaborative (OC HOPC) is offering a free workshop for anyone who needs help with preventing a foreclosure on their home. This is part of the on-going free foreclosure prevention workshops that OC HOPC is providing in partnership with various organizations. The February 11th workshop is in partnership with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), City of Santa Ana, National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Orange County Association of Realtors, and Calvary Church.

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal counselors and lenders will be on-site to help at the workshop. However, only homeowners whose names are on the mortgage can be assisted, so OC HOPC asks that you do not send someone in your place. If you need assistance but can’t make this workshop, you might contact OC HOPE and ask what other help is available or when and where the next workshop will be held.

Here are the details for the upcoming OC HOPC workshop:

When: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Session 1–2:30 to 4:30 pm (English, registration begins at 2:00 pm)
Session 2–5:30 to 7:30 pm (Spanish, registration begins at 5:00 pm)

Where: Calvary Church, 1010 N. Tustin Avenue, Santa Ana

Who: Open to public
RSVP Recommended (www.oc.myhousingforall.org or e-mail myhousingforall@aol.com)

What to Bring:

• Your loan documents and recent mortgage statement
• Your two most current pay stubs
• Your most recent W2s–two-years worth
• Your most recent tax returns–two-years worth
• A list of your monthly expenses

Cost: Free

Again, if you need help with preventing a foreclosure but can’t attend this workshop, contact OC HOPC to see what other help is available.

If you are facing the possibility of foreclosure, here are some ways to find help:

• Contact a Consumer Credit Counseling Services office. Orange County branches are located in Santa Ana (headquarters), Anaheim, Brea, and Costa Mesa. Website: cccsoc.org; Phone: 800-213-2227 (24 hours).
  Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Costa Mesa can be reached at the website or by calling 714-245-1690. The Costa Mesa branch is located at 2701 Harbor Boulevard inside the Costa Mesa Federal Credit Union. English, Spanish, and Vietnamese are spoken at the Costa Mesa branch.
• Attend a free foreclosure prevention workshop at Irvine’s civic center on June 12. At the workshop, individual help will be provided to homeowners. The workshop is made available by the Orange County Home Ownership Preservation Collaborative, the City of Irvine and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). RSVP suggested. Phone: 714-568-0823 X225.
• See the HUD website, or call 877-HUD-1515. In addition to information on housing, loans and foreclosure, this site has a list of HUD-approved counseling agencies.

GRAPHIC COURTESY THE CITY OF IRVINE

If you are fortunate enough that you are able to invest in foreclosures and are interested in pursuing this in Costa Mesa, here is some information that might help.

Costa Mesa is partnering with Fullerton and La Habra to apply for a grant from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This program is part of the federal Recovery Act.

If the grant is approved, Costa Mesa will receive $303,749 that the city will use to improve areas that are suffering from high foreclosure rates and to provide counseling to those who are interested in buying homes in those areas.

A joint public hearing of all three cities will be held at the Fullerton city council meeting on June 2. For more information, see the Costa Mesa public notice.

Also, the California Foreclosure Institute is providing ongoing free seminars at various Orange County locations.