Is there foreclosure help available locally?

A few days ago, I saw in our local newspaper an article about what our local government was attempting to do to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure and it made me think: "our local governments may be able to provide help where the federal government can't."

Don't get me wrong, the federal government has its mind in the right place; it's just too big and inefficient to get much done. Helping homeowners in distress is a job that must be done one homeowner at a time.

Let me give you an example. In July of 2008, the federal government passed the government rescue bill, which was supposed to help 250,000 families. Estimates vary, but we hear that the number of people helped so far, falls in the hundreds not the thousands. Why? There are many reasons: 1. the government bureaucracy is good for major projects that can be handled in bulk but not projects that have to be done one piece at a time. 2. The lenders are slow to respond because they are not set up to handle loan workout plans for loans which don't even belong to them. 3. Homeowners feel overwhelmed because up to this point the only representatives fo the lenders they've dealt with are the collectors harassing them every month to pay the mortgage.

In contrast take a look at what our county government is going to do here in Lee County, Florida. With $900,000 in State money set aside for that purpose, they will offer up to $8000 to homeowners with moderate, low or very low incomes. Any homeowner who's had a major hardship such as job loss, medical illness, weather event related property damage, or unforeseen home repair bill will be able to qualify for this money. How simple can it get: if you qualify, they will give you enough money to get your loan caught up and stave off the foreclosure. In combination with all the foreclosure counseling that's offered, this will give the homeowner the best hope of finding a permanent solution to his/her foreclosure problem.

Just like this example, there are plenty of communities taking matters into their own hands to help stop this wave of foreclosures which is threatening to ruin the nation's economy. Keep your eyes open, you may see that the solution to your problem is not with the federal government but right there in front of you.