While foreclosures continue to be a problem in Rome, the Appalachian Housing Counseling Agency has staved off 130 foreclosures for low- to moderate-income Romans in the past 22 months.

“Mortgage default counseling used to be our lowest numbers, now they’re our largest numbers,” said Patricia Harris, one of two counselors with the agency — which works closely with the city of Rome’s Community Develop-

ment office and the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority

Fifty-eight homeowners contacted the AHCA office in Rome last year in an effort to help with the potential loss of their home, and the agency was able to prevent 50 of the foreclosures. So far this year, 93 homeowners have found themselves in default and the agency has been able to help 80 of them.

The agency has to get third-party authorization to intervene on behalf of the endangered homeowners, however, “a lot of times their mortgage companies will tell them to call us,” said counselor DeDee Sanderson.

Most of the time the financial problems have stemmed from the loss of a job or high medical bills, according to Sanderson.

“We attempt to negotiate a loan modification, either lowering the interest rate, or extending the loan to get the payments lowered,” she said.

The agency is typically required to send the mortgage company the two most recent bank statements and pay stubs to verify the financial stress a homeowner is under.

A new program called Hope for Homeowners also allows struggling families to refinance their homes for 90 percent of a new appraised value. In today’s economy that is frequently much less than the original purchase price of a home.

The AHCA has conducted four education seminars this year for first-time homebuyers in the Rome and Floyd County area, reaching more than 110 people.

It also offers pre-purchase counseling that focuses on the prospective homebuyer’s budget and ability to manage money. From that point, the agency works with the family to obtain pre-approval from a lending institution and in certain cases is able to offer down payment assistance.

So far this year, the agency has provided assistance that has resulted in the purchase and closing on 30 homes — with another four pending.

For assistance from the Appalachian Housing Counseling Agency, contact DeDee Sanderson at 706-368-5731 or Patricia Harris at 706-378-9917.

Click here to read more about payment assistance from a brochure about the Downpayment Assistance Program.