Twin Cities Habitat saving homes from foreclosure

With all the negative news out there about foreclosures here’s one bright spot – Kelly Behrendt is going to keep his South Minneapolis home, and he says it’s all thanks to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH). Kelly was paying child support and began falling behind on his mortgage in 2010. He tried working with his lender but they stopped talking to him on the phone. They just sent him to their lawyers and that was a paperwork dead end.

“I didn’t know what to do at that point,” says Kelly. “Someone suggested Habitat for Humanity and I made a call."

Kelly contacted TCHFH’s Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program (MFPP). Counselor Adade Amenounve worked with Kelly to get a loan modification that lowered his monthly payment by nearly $300. His interest rate went from 7.125% to 3% and will eventually adjust to 4.25% for the life of the loan.

“I couldn’t do better than that on my own, no way possible, not without Habitat’s help,” says Kelly. “And I’m ever so grateful for that.”

Kelly is hardly alone. There were nearly 26,000 foreclosures in Minnesota in 2010, slightly fewer than the record number of 26, 265 in 2008. MFPP worked with more than 1,000 Minneapolis homeowners last year as part of a statewide network of counseling agencies. The program prevented hundreds of foreclosures in the city, saving taxpayers millions. According to a Congressional report each foreclosure costs taxpayers $78,000 in lost property value, extra policing and government expenses.

The MFPP counselors are realistic with homeowners. “Our goal isn’t for everyone to stay in their home,” says Adade. “We want housing solutions that are affordable long term so people can become financial fit.”

Kelly Behrendt is now on that pathway. “Once I got the clue to get connected to Habitat for Humanity,” says Kelly, “that changed everything around. I felt that there was a light at the end of the tunnel as it were.”

Contributed by Matt Haugen