The District Chronicles

Issue date: 7/13/08 Section: Cover

In Philadelphia, the number of sheriff's sale properties has increased from an average of 300 to 400 a month to more than 1,000.  The city's broad and diverse networks of Housing Counseling Agencies and Credit Counseling Services have been the city's front-line defense, but their staffs are overloaded and increasingly frustrated by realms of red tape.  They have been slowed by the proliferation of voice mail and procedural barriers, Sheriff Green said.

Sheriff Green has also launched a three-point plan to stem the rising tide of foreclosures in Philadelphia and keep credit-worthy borrowers in their homes. First, the plan proposes a massive publicity campaign to alert borrowers who are falling behind in their payments to steps they must take to delay foreclosure and negotiate a suitable repayment plan.

Second, the plan calls for creation of a community-wide coalition to look at short-term and long-term legislative solutions dealing with issues such as attorney fees and the need for third-party loans to help provide temporary mortgage assistance to FHA borrowers.

Third, the plan seeks to rally community support and provide immediate relief in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest.

"That's crazy," Brewer said of Sheriff Green's bold attack on the foreclosure beast.  "It's a good idea, but a crazy one. "Brewer said Green is taking a big bold step in what he is doing and thinks it needs to be done. "In the end, it all falls back on educating the mortgage loan consumer," he said.

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