Services to Help Prevent Illinois Foreclosure Homes

February 2009 data showed that Illinois has the sixth highest number of foreclosure homes in the United States. The data showed that a growing number of distressed families are facing the threat of losing their properties to foreclosure.

Foreclosure homes filings in DuPage County increased to 4,470 last year from 1,886 two years ago, reflecting a whopping 137 percent increase.

In Will County, foreclosure homes filings reached over 2,000. The county was the fastest growing area in the state during the peak of the housing market.

Meanwhile, foreclosure homes filings in Kane County increased to 3,451 last year from 1,614 filings in 2006, a staggering 114 percent jump, according to nonprofit Woodstock Institute which collects and compiles the foreclosure data.

Woodstock Institute’s data do not include distressed homeowners who are struggling to remain on their properties and avoid foreclosure homes.

Distressed homeowners in Illinois may now have allies on their fight to save their homes from foreclosures. Contacting a counseling group is considered to be the best defense for distressed homeowners to avoid foreclosure.

Borrowers facing the threat of foreclosures may ask assistance from local resources that are available for free. Non-profit counseling groups are there to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure by negotiating with lenders, providing paperwork assistance and offering explanation on homeowners’ rights.

Non-profit organizations Community Service Council of Northern Will County and Will County Center for Community Concerns are offering their counseling services for free to distressed homeowners. These nonprofits exist on federal and state grant funds and private donations.

Joliet-based Will County Center provides financial-related counseling services to distressed homeowners and funds to pay for overdue utility bills, improve home insulation and repair a furnace. A onetime emergency fund of $500 is provided to eligible families with combined income of not more than $27,500. This fund will be used to pay overdue mortgages and other household needs.

Meanwhile, the DuPage Homeownership Center provides assistance to families facing foreclosures. In 2006, the center was able to help 54 families. It increased to 272 families in 2008 and for January and February 2009, the center has already assisted 56 families.

On the other hand, Joseph Corp. in Kane County has noted a significant rise in the number of families it assisted when information about foreclosure prevention services in the area was included in water bills of residents.

Experts agree that the best way for distressed homeowners to prevent foreclosure is to seek help early.

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• Former Owners of Foreclosed Homes: Where Are They Now?
• Foreclosures Up by 33 Percent in Some Central Virginia Counties