Home owners find help in midst of housing crisis

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than 2,000 people lined up in the middle of the night Wednesday for a chance to get free help on loan modifications, buying homes and how to get out of mortgages. And all of them have a story to tell.

"They didn't really stick to their word with me and they left me hanging and without possibly a home in a couple weeks," said La Habra resident Sonia Perez.

Now they've come to the American Dream Tour, put on by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, or NACA. The nonprofit organization has contracts with major lenders and investors, who are also there, and offers on-site modifications to home owners and mortgages to new home buyers.

"We're here to try to get our loan modified, or at least get a decent payment," Perez said.

New home sales in 2011 were the worst on record going back half a century. Foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac says California leads the way in homeowners who have received initial default notices, suggesting a fresh wave of foreclosures may be coming.

But NACA CEO Bruce Marks said his organization has helped thousands of people who thought there was no hope.

"No down payment, no closing cost, no fee loan, 30-year fixed below market, today's rate is 3.75 percent, you don't look at credit score, well, we've shown that we have the best performance in the mortgage industry," he said.

Yet among the phone calls, frustration and paper work, there are success stories.

"There's no more step payment, we got a very low interest rate, and me and my family get to stay in our home," said Castaic resident Joey Olson.

The event runs every day until Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. All of the services are free.

Before lining up for NACA's event, make sure you have all of the proper mortgage and financial documents. For a list of everything you need, visit http://www.naca.com.

Get more Los Angeles News »

housing market, downtown, los angeles news

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•