Homeowners Assistance Program Gives Homeowners Financial Tips

HOPE NOW and HomeStrong USA collaborated to bring struggling homeowners a solution to their financial and homeownership woes on Saturday, Aug. 24. Attendees gathered at the California State University of San Bernardino (CSUSB) for the beginning of the fair at 9 a.m. in anticipation of assistance for financial road bumps. Various banks, companies, and federal, state, and non-profit programs committed to helping veterans were also in attendance. They included the Loma Linda VA, the California Monitor, NPHS, Western Community Housing Inc., United States Veterans Initiative, and the newly merged California Department of Business Oversight. The event was aimed at helping veterans and active military members and their families find a solution to issues pertaining to their financial and home ownership issues. “It’s just a great thing that needs to happen and needs to happen more often,” said Pete Serbantes, Program Director with HomeStrong USA. “It’s a foreclosure [and] housing loss mitigation opportunity, where all the major banks are here to assist homeowners with their home ownership issues.” HOPE NOW, an outreach program that helps homeowners keep their homes, was started by financial counselors, mortgage companies, investors and other mortgage market participants; the program reached out to HomeStrong USA earlier this year to help assist with the development of the program for veterans, shared Serbantes. Attendees were able to walk around the lobby before entering the auditorium to hear speakers talk about the different programs their agencies or companies offer. Serbantes explained that many of the companies, centers, departments and agencies had some ties to Veterans Affairs, adding that some were even looking to hire. “The California Monitor assists in the operation of the mortgage settlement by the Attorney General. Wells Fargo has their operation here, sharing the premise of how they help veterans, and we also have Western Community Housing, Inc., which is establishing a new housing project in the city of Redlands and is committed to a large percentage of veterans and their families,” said Serbantes. “Everybody here is a legitimate veteran supporting agency.” Once in the auditorium, homeowners were able to hear speakers talk about their agencies and what they do for the public as they waited to meet with housing counseling agencies and banks to review participants’ situation and housing issues as well as work out reasonable budgets for their day-to-day lives, shared Serbantes. According to a recent study conducted by Realty Trac, a leading online marketplace of properties which are foreclosed, 1 in every 607 homes is foreclosed in the San Bernardino County alone, which is why Serbantes felt this program was such a necessity. “HOPE NOW and HomeStrong USA brought a lot of organizations that are not only assisting but also progressing in helping veterans,” said Serbantes. “We have a full sphere of influence over everything veterans can utilize from information to benefits and we are happy to do it.” Saturday’s program was the first of its kind to be held in California. HomeStrong has scheduled a similar event to be held in Riverside County at the Moreno Valley Civic Center on March 22, 2014.