New data show Sacramento homeowners continue to take a big hit as the nation's foreclosure crisis churns through a second difficult summer.
One of every 145 households in Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer counties faced foreclosure in July – 5,290 properties – according to Realtytrac, Inc. data service, saddling Sacramento with the 11th worst foreclosure rate in the country.
Foreclosures nationally were up 55 percent over July of last year, and mortgage experts say they see no letup in the litany of lost houses anytime soon.
"There still are a lot of high-risk loans out there at risk for foreclosure," Daren Blomquist of Realtytrac said. "A lot are resetting in the next few months, which is the trigger that can cause a foreclosure."
All this, along with sinking home values and a bad economy, has Sacramento resident Leovardo Lopez, a pool builder, on edge this weekend.
The 42-year-old Lopez's work hours recently were slashed. He was lucky; most of his co-workers have been laid off, but he fears he will not have a big enough salary next month to make his mortgage payment.
Worse, the home he bought in 2005 is worth $150,000 less than he paid.
On Saturday, Lopez, married with two children, attended one of many foreclosure counseling sessions offered in recent months around Sacramento.
This one was sponsored by ACORN Housing, a federally approved nonprofit helping homeowners.
Lopez said his credit is good, and he has a solid 16-year track record of employment with one pool company.
"I became a citizen to fulfill the American dream," he said in Spanish. Diana Navarro of ACORN translated. "After all I've sacrificed, it wouldn't be fair to walk away from my house."
Lopez is a step ahead of many homeowners, Navarro said. Many don't seek help until the week the bank is taking their house. ACORN will try to negotiate with Lopez's lender to rewrite his loan.
Meanwhile, there is some cause for optimism, Navarro and other counselors said.
In just 30 days, the federal government will launch its landmark "Hope for Homeowners" mortgage assistance program – $300 billion in refinancing funds to help homeowners get out of risky adjustable loans and into safer 30-year fixed loans.
The program is expected to help some 400,000 struggling borrowers.
Mortgage counselors say homeowners in Sacramento and elsewhere have been asking recently about the program.
"Unfortunately, the bill isn't for everybody," said Ed Cordona of NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center in Sacramento.
Cordona, whose agency also offers foreclosure counseling, said the bill offers hope, but restrictions are tight.
• Homeowners can't have secondary debt on their home.
• The house payment must represent more than 31 percent of the owner's monthly income.
• And, perhaps most critically, the owner's lender has to be willing to agree to participate in the federal program.
Homeowners should ask lenders now, advises Richard Pittman, housing services coordinator for ByDesign Financial Solutions.
"Lenders themselves may not want to get too committed yet," he said, but if homeowners wait until October, "you may have a half-million people in line in front of you."
Sacramento Mutual Housing Association's Oksana Hill said her agency is not focused on the federal bill right now. It is recommending that homeowners in trouble call their lender and ask about rewriting the loan.
Lenders may resist renegotiating the loan if the homeowner hasn't yet missed any monthly payments.
In that case, "ask to speak to a supervisor," Hill said. "Be persistent."
Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.
