DAYTON, Ohio — Eleven local credit unions and the Ohio Credit Union Foundation have joined to provide over $65,000 to the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton to help homeowners keep their homes amid rising foreclosures in the Miami Valley area. The funds have allowed the HomeOwnership Center to hire a certified foreclosure counselor to exclusively serve the local area.
Ohio's 46,000 foreclosures in the third quarter were the third highest in the nation according to RealtyTrac. Montgomery County ranks as the second worst county in Ohio due to job loss, illness and predatory lending practices. The efforts of Dayton's credit unions and the HomeOwnership Center expect to assist over 300 Miami Valley families in avoiding foreclosure. The initiative will help borrowers by providing them with resources, necessary steps and other tools.
“Foreclosure affects more than individual families, it affects entire communities and it's having a huge impact in the Miami Valley. The need for this partnership has never been greater,” said Tim Mislansky, senior vice president, Wright-Patt Credit Union and spokesperson for the credit unions. “This crisis needs leadership to be solved. There has been a lot of talk of solutions, but credit unions are taking meaningful action by taking a leadership role in stemming the rise of foreclosures. The solution for our community needs to be solved by the community in order to ensure the prevention of future foreclosures.”
“As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions exist solely to serve the needs of our members. One of our biggest advantages is the fact that we make decisions here–at the local level,” said Mislansky. “This allows us to direct our resources to solve local problems and help our members.”
Beth Deutscher, executive director of the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton, said, “I'm extremely impressed with Dayton credit unions' willingness to step forward on this critical issue, and we're thrilled to be partnering with them. Their commitment sets an important example for our community, and we need more partners like this that are willing to help us reach families before it's too late.”
The initiative is available to any homeowner in the Miami Valley area having trouble paying their mortgage. Borrowers needing help should contact the Hope Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE. Homeowners will receive free foreclosure prevention counseling by a certified expert mortgage counselor, and in most cases will be connected to the HomeOwnership Center. They will get advice about their options, assistance in working with their lender, help in trying to refinance their loan and possible access to grant dollars to help cure their delinquency.
In addition to the foreclosure counselor, the effort will also provide public service announcements developed by the Ad Council and NeighborWorks(R) America to encourage people to act early and not ignore the problem. “For a homeowner who is experiencing trouble in paying their mortgage, the most important thing is that they act fast,” said Deutscher. “The sooner they reach out for assistance, the greater our chances of being able to identify a solution.”
The eleven participating credit unions are: Affinia Federal Credit Union, Bethel Baptist Federal Credit Union, Code Credit Union, Day Air Credit Union, DayMet Credit Union, FirstDay Financial Federal Credit Union, Incenta Federal Credit Union, Montgomery County Credit Union, River Valley Credit Union, Universal 1 Credit Union and Wright-Patt Credit Union. The Ohio Credit Union Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Ohio Credit Union System, aided the efforts with a $10,000 grant.
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