Foreclosure Help!
Taking Action to Stop Foreclosures in Kent County
Foreclosure Response is a non-profit project connecting residents with community resources and advocating for change to stop foreclosures in Kent County.
Foreclosure rates have been increasing at an alarming rate. Between 2004 and 2007, there were approximately 4,000 foreclosures in the City of Grand Rapids and ~4,000 in the remaining areas of Kent County as well.
In addition to people losing their homes, foreclosures reduce property values and our tax base needed for city and county services and programs, like fire, police, road repair and community health. They also increase neighborhood blight and crime.
Check out www.ForeclosureResponse.org to learn about services and self-help tools available to homeowners to prevent foreclosure and how to avoid predatory lenders and other scam artists.
People who have missed even one mortgage payment should not wait so seek help – those who act sooner rather than later have a much higher success rate.
Contact Home Repair Services, a non-profit organization, at 241-2601.
Their housing specialists provide FREE assistance to help homeowners work with lenders for a positive outcome. Home Repair Services also link homeowners with other organizations that can assist them.
Foreclosure Response’s task force is comprised of more than 30 non-profits, lending institutions and governmental representatives working to reduce the number of foreclosures in Kent County and develop measurement tools to gauge the current and future impacts of foreclosure by:
- Educating and engaging the community around the issues related to foreclosure.
- Mitigating losses to our community caused by high foreclosure rates.
- Coordinating ongoing efforts to prevent predatory and deceptive lending, and additional foreclosures.
These goals will be met by going door-to-door to provide educational materials for GR residents, launching a county-wide community education campaign and helping residents organize to advocate for housing policies and legislation that improve our financial stability and quality of life in Kent County.
For more information or to get involved, contact Kym Spring at ForeclosureResponse@gmail.com or by phone, 401-0680.