Homeowners facing default and foreclosure can get free help at a housing clinic April 16 at the San Marcos Community Center.
The clinic, sponsored jointly by the Housing Opportunities Collaborative, the city of San Marcos, San Diego County Library and the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, offers what program manager Gregorio Estrella calls a "one-stop shop" for distressed homeowners, with free legal advice, and credit and mortgage counseling.
Volunteer attorneys and financial counselors provide general information through educational sessions, Estrella said.
They also review participants loan documents to offer individualized analysis of their situations, he said.
Experts will discuss options and help homeowners chart a course of action, which may include loan modifications to stave off foreclosure.
Moreover, he said, the counselors will follow up with participants after the session, helping walk them through the complexities of the banking system.
"The housing counselor takes care of them at the home clinic, then takes them through completion with their lender," he said. "The counselors have working relationships with people at each bank, and that's a tremendous value."
The event will be the 78th such clinic offered by the collaborative, and the 27th sponsored by the county library system, organizers said. The clinics typically draw about 50 to 90 people.
Susan Moore, community relations manager for the library, said the cooperative effort brings expert housing advice into the comfort zone of public libraries.
"Our director wanted us to focus on what's important now, which is jobs, health, housing," Moore said. "We looked around at housing and found it was confusing for people, that they really needed information, which is what libraries do well. They needed a trusted space, and the library has lots of branches around the county."
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