By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-703438.mp3
Memphis, TN – There's hope for those facing foreclosure. The state is encouraging borrowers to contact a housing counselor.
When finances are tight, sometimes all the mail looks like junk. Well, okay, not junk, but you may not want to open that letter from your lender if you are behind in your payments.
Be on the look out for mail from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. In that letter, they encourage borrowers to contact a housing counselor to help them change the terms of their loans.
Emily Trenholm, Executive Director of the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis says contact a housing counselor. There's no cost for the service, and they will contact your lender for you.
Last Saturday, the HOPE NOW Home Preservation Event brought together borrowers, housing counselors and lenders to restructure loans to help people avoid losing their homes.
Some were helped, while others weren't. A woman from Hickory Hill has an adjustable rate loan, and their payments are going up every six months.
A Memphis factory worker's lender changed his loan from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate - for 5 years.
A list of housing counselors for Shelby County and Jackson, Tennessee are available at wknofm.org
For more information, contact the Memphis Housing Counseling Network at (901) 725-8361.
The state of Tennessee highly recommends that borrowers contact their lenders as soon as they realize that they may have difficulty in paying their mortgage on time. The following housing counseling services are available in Memphis and Jackson for borrowers who need assistance with their lender or mortgage servicer:
Affordable Housing CDC #92
206 East Main Street
Jackson, TN
(731) 422-1366
Financial Counselors of America
3294 Poplar Avenue, Suite 304
Memphis, TN
(901) 722-5000
Frayser Community Development Corporation
3684 N. Watkins
Memphis, TN
(901) 354-9402
Hope for Tomorrow
3115 Park Avenue
Memphis, TN
(901) 414-3308
Jackson Housing Authority
125 Preston Street
Jackson, TN
(731) 422-1671
Memphis Area Legal Services
109 North Main Street
Memphis, TN
(901) 523-8822
Southeast Memphis Community Development Corporation
3150 Lenox Park Dr., Suite 420
Memphis, TN
(901) 273-2870
United Housing, Inc.
51 North Cooper
Memphis, TN
(901) 728-6924
VECA Community Development Corporation
1680 Jackson Avenue
Memphis, TN
(901) 276-1782
The Works Inc.
1471 Genesis Circle
Memphis, TN
(901) 947-7076