Foreclosure Fightback
SEIU Takes Action to Protect Oregon Homeowners
$17,000,000,000,000.
That's 17 TRILLION DOLLARS of American wealth GONE as a result of predatory lending practices by Bank of America and other big banks, like JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup.
Oregon is now the 3rd highest state in the nation in home foreclosures. Due to tough economic times, many SEIU members have faced difficulties with mortgages: defaults, foreclosures, and especially banks & lenders that refuse to work with families to help them stay in their homes.
SEIU has a plan to hold Wall Street Banks accountable, and to protect working families.
There are two ways you can get involved:
1. Show up and send a message to the banks
On August 6th, we will gather in Albany, OR to send a message to big banks and mortgage lenders. Oregon families need a fighting chance to stay in their homes. Click the link below for more information and to RSVP to attend the action.
http://seiu503.seiu.org/page/event/detail/503political/4v5mv
2. Share your story
Do you have a story about your struggle to make your mortgage payments? Do you have family members or colleagues with a story to share? Click the link below to submit your story. You can tell it in person at the August 6 action, or have another SEIU member tell it for you if you can't attend.
http://seiu503.seiu.org/page/s/BofA_TellYourStory
Together, we can hold big banks accountable for the mess they've made of our economy.
For free foreclosure assistance, call 1-800-SafeNet or visit
211Info.org and choose 'foreclosure' from the drop-down menu.
Background on the Oregon foreclosure crisis
As heartrending an experience as foreclosure is for a family threatened with losing its home, the magnitude of the foreclosure epidemic in Oregon and across the country makes it a crisis that has touched every one of us — and projections suggest we are only halfway through the storm.
Since 2007, when SEIU and others started calling for an end to reckless lending practices, 6.6 million families have faced foreclosure. Some were sold expensive mortgages when they could have qualified for better terms. Others were in affordable mortgages, but lost their jobs and income when the crisis triggered double-digit unemployment.
Right now in Oregon, 62,000 homeowners are past due on their mortgage, and the figure is expected to exceed 85,000 before the situation is stabilized. Each day, the story unfolds in another house. Parents have to come up with some way to tell their kids that moving day is near. Retired homeowners who have lived in the same house for 20 years or more face an uncertain — and unthinkable — future.
As one 68-year-old man from Keizer explained, “I’m paralyzed with fear. I just don’t know what I’m going to do.” This was after months of trying to work with his bank and losing the $2,500 he paid to a mortgage modification firm that promised big and delivered nothing.
Without stronger action now, thousands of Oregonians will needlessly lose their home and foreclosures will continue to destroy our neighborhoods and drag down our economy.
Over the next few months SEIU - in partnership with other advocacy groups - will be rolling out the next steps for establishing rules of fair play aimed at better accountability for banks and a fighting chance for homeowners.
During General Council we will share a new web-based tool that will help us track abandoned and neglected bank-owned homes. These overgrown and often dangerous deteriorating properties decrease neighboring property values, invite crime and place an extra burden on our local governments. It’s time for banks to start paying the bill for these neglected homes. The web site will also be a tool for homeowners in foreclosure. They will be invited to share their stories, read what others are doing and learn more about their options for free foreclosure assistance. We’ll need your help to make all of this happen, so please stay tuned.