Posted on January 25 , 2008

Officials Target Housing Crisis
West County leaders want a six-month moratorium on foreclosures to allow residents to negotiate with lenders

By Katherine Tam
STAFF WRITER

With the number of home foreclosures climbing, West County officials are backing a six-month moratorium on foreclosures to give residents on the verge of eviction time to work out agreements with mortgage lenders. Officials fear that abandoned homes will lead to blight in neighborhoods and attract crime.

"Hardworking Richmond and West County homeowners are facing loss of their homes and their very livelihoods," Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin said. "It's important to have some breathing space to find solutions that will give immediate help for homeowners." [emphasis added]

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors passed a nonbinding resolution Jan. 15, calling on subprime mortgage lenders to hold off on foreclosures for six months. The West County Mayors and Supervisors Association followed suit at its meeting Wednesday. The same resolution will be put before the Contra Costa Mayors Conference on Feb. 7.

"It will put pressure on the financial community to help out with some long-term solutions," El Cerrito Mayor Bill Jones said. "I think there's a lot of uneasiness in the community right now about what's going to happen."

About 3,800 notices of default were issued in Contra Costa County during the fourth quarter of 2007, an increase of 152 percent from the same period in 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Statewide, the number of default notices jumped last quarter to its highest level in more than 15 years.

Jones plans to take the resolution to the El Cerrito City Council for a vote in February. McLaughlin said that she will take it to the Richmond City Council, where members are expressing support, on Jan. 29.

Richmond council members decided Tuesday to organize a workshop with help from the state and local groups to give homeowners on the brink of losing their homes help and resources. That would include teaching residents how to modify their loans before foreclosure.

"As I drive through neighborhoods, I see lots of homes for sale, for auction or even boarded up," said Councilwoman Ludmyrna Lopez, who proposed the idea with Councilman Tony Thurmond after the two attended a similar workshop in Oakland that drew hundreds.

The workshop would be held before the end of February and would be televised. Resources and other information would be posted on the city's Web site.

Reach Katherine Tam at 510-262-2787 or ktam@bayareanewsgroup.com.