Task force in Rochester to curb foreclosures

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Jul 11, 2007 by Danielle Derringer

Whether due to subprime lending, predatory lending, or simply an inability to pay, foreclosures are an ongoing problem in Rochester.

Housing experts soon will come together to discuss the issue as a result of Mayor Robert J. Duffy's recent formation of a foreclosure task force in Rochester.

"What the mayor has called on is perhaps the changing face of foreclosures and the fear and reality in many communities that different kinds of foreclosures are happening," Jean Lowe, president of the Greater Rochester Housing Partnership, said recently.

According to Bret Garwood, director of project development for the city, the new task force has three main goals.

"First, we want to evaluate trends and make sure the things we're doing are properly addressing the issue of foreclosure, second, we will be trying to find ways to increase the capacity and effectiveness of these programs, third, and this could be the most important, we want to find new ways to identify and get properties that have been foreclosed into the hands of more non-profit organizations," Garwood said.

Garwood said that through the past six or seven years, foreclosures haven't been driven by FHA loans but instead by subprime lending and unconventional loans. Subprime lending issues came to a head in Rochester recently but didn't exactly come as a surprise, according to Garwood.

"Even at the time of the foreclosure action plan that was conducted six or seven years ago, subprime lending represented a very small percentage of foreclosures, but it did warn that they could become an increasing problem, which is exactly what happened," Garwood said.

Garwood noted that he is very careful to separate subprime lending from predatory lending because sometimes people can confuse the two.

He said although there has been a lot of talk both nationally and regionally about predatory lending and mortgage fraud, he doesn't believe it is the driving force behind Rochester's foreclosure problem.

"I think most foreclosures in our area are caused by people who are simply unable to make their loan payments for a lot of different reasons that happen in life; death, disease and divorce are the typical reasons we see the most," Garwood said. "We want to be able to work for these people to help them prevent foreclosures so they can keep their home."

Garwood also wants to ensure homes that are foreclosed are utilized throughout the city.

"We want to find ways to minimize the impact of vacant properties and hope to work hand-in-hand with lenders to minimize the amount of time a property is vacant once it is foreclosed," he said.

Lowe said the city has several programs to help with the foreclosure problem, including Home Rochester, which acquires vacant, foreclosed properties that later are renovated and sold.

It also includes some foreclosure counseling done by the Housing Council and legal assistance through the Empire Justice Center to help avoid foreclosure actions, Lowe said.

Empire Justice works in legislative and administrative advocacy on behalf of those impacted by poverty and discrimination.

Garwood and Lowe agreed the new task force is made up of people who are genuinely interested in the problem because no one benefits from foreclosures.

"Lenders are losing money, real estate agents are affected, the community and neighborhoods are affected because of the impact of vacant properties, certainly the individuals who lose their home are affected. There's no one financially benefiting from foreclosures, so we have a lot of people who are very motivated to deal with this issue,"Garwood said.

A public foreclosure summit is set for Aug. 9 in the city council chambers. The task force will come together, share information and discuss strategies for addressing foreclosures.

For more information visit www.grhp.org.