Project Three: Foreclosure

What is project 3: Working with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) we were set out to create a marketing strategy that would target two zip codes (80134 & 80138) in Parker.

The Reason: Foreclosure. CHFA identified these two zip codes as areas with low call volume to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline and an area with high NED homes.

Terms of Foreclosure: (NED) is "Notice of Election and Demand." The notice that is filed with the public trustee placing a home into foreclosure.

Time Frame: It can take up to 6-8 months for a homeowner to be placed into foreclosure or for a Notice of Election and Demand to be placed on a home.

Loss Mitigation Counseling: Because of this time frame, it is encouraged that homeowners speak with a housing counselor to prevent foreclosure.

Foreclosure Assistance Fair: We started our project by attending a foreclosure fair in Arvada. Special Agent Banks aka Chantay was our Team Lead. After taking a detour because of the wrong address. We (Chantay, Rachel , Felipe and I ) finally arrived at the forclosure fair.

Reality: The reality of foreclosure set in as individuals and famlies attended workshops, spoke with housing counselors and picked up brochures linking services that they might potentially need in the near future.

Finding Resolve: After sitting down to speak with Brothers Redevelopment, a non-profit that assists people with housing counseling to prevent foreclosure. A woman interrupted to ask a question on the topic of foreclosure. Having a arm full of papers in her hands, she sought advice about her home. Having not missed a payment, she said its just about getting there and is there anything I can do?

Reflecting: The woman had brought all her paperwork as to seek a result or resolution of her situation. Even though events like the fair are not meant and fit to hold a actual housing counseling session, the conversation lasted about an hour and a half. Thinking about all that was said, I examined what could be done differently?

I am a functionalist: Before the Apprentice Challenge, I used to work for Foothills United Way as a program manager for the PIE program. PIE is a matched-savings program designed to match participant savings at a 4:1 ratio in order to purchase their first time home, attend college or start a small business. The goal is to help people save their way out of poverty.

One of my jobs was to write grants. Upon reviewing the data, I noticed numerous individuals joining the program but exiting the program within a few months or upon reaching theirs savings goal of $750 dollars. Why?

A further examination: New to the program I began reviewing the process of how we qualified participants from start to finish and investigating the why? After much review, I concluded that many participants joined the program especially the first time homeowner track without knowing whether they were ready to buy a home.

The Idea: Creating a readiness assessment. A readiness assessment would be combined with our application, but it would ask further questions allowing us to have snapshot of a participants lifestyle. Such questions like: Do you have transportation? Do you currenty have a monthly budget? Do you save? How long have you been at your current employement? Do you know your credit score?

Above all the goal of the readiness assessment was to gauge how ready a participant was to save each month and successfully graduate from our program. By scoring these different questions, it allowed us to determine what areas of support a participant may need to successfully complete our program and purchase a high cost asset.

Bleeding into Project 3: Using the same concept of the readiness assessment, I reflected at the Arvada fair that this system needs to be more efficent. Even though the woman who came in sought advice and the fair wasn't the right forum for a housing session. I could only imagine what a real housing counseling session maybe like, and how much time is spent in a session.

If our mission was to develop a marketing strategy, what happens then to the housing counselor... I thought? If this much time is spent in a session and we flood the two zip codes with marketing material that would make homeowners begin to start calling the hotline and the housing counselors then what happens next?

Understanding foreclosure from a Housing Counselor perspective: Learning that if our marketing strategy were to come into play and an increase call volume to the Housing Counselor would exist...how would the agency cope with this? The Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP) handles all of Douglas County and Parker exists in Douglas County. As of now, there is only one part-time housing counselor that handels foreclosure assistance counseling.

The Plan: Develop a uniform application that people can access via internet to register and apply for foreclosure assistance. Once a participant fills out the application and it is submitted, it will be sent via email to the housing counselor and already scored. Giving a priority listing, that would allow the housing counselor to manage their case load by already having a priority score on the application ( [1] Pre-Foreclosure counseling to [5] Immediate Foreclosure Assistance)

Our Theme: "Keep it simple for the Homeowner and the Housing Counselor." By having people fill out the application online, individuals will be able to be referred to their housing counseling agency with a full profile. Making homeowners feel that they are taking their first step in resolving their situation with a click of their mouse.

By submitting an application online, housing counselors will reduce the amount of time spent on reviewing paperwork during a session and more time finding a solution to prevent foreclosure. By receiving the application with a priority score, it will allow housing counselors to regulate its caseload and become a better advocate for the consumer in neogiating a deal with the lender. Freeing up time and ensuring a efficent process that keeps it simple for the homeowner and the housing counselor.

Up next... Our strategy for flooding the market, Meetings and our Presentation!