Workshop offers tactics to prevent foreclosure

LYNN – Foreclosures are still occurring across the country but the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) wants to teach homeowners how to prevent it.LHAND, in conjunction with Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) and Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), will co-sponsor the latest in a series of foreclosure prevention workshops on Tuesday, March 16.The free clinic will be held at LHAND’s community room, 10 Church St., from 5-7 p.m. No appointment is required.The three organizations, with funding from the United Way of Mass Bay and the Merrimack Valley, offer counseling certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as free legal services to homeowners at risk of foreclosure.At the clinic, homeowners will learn about their rights in the foreclosure process and effective strategies to avoid foreclosure by working out affordable solutions. If legal services are required, low-income or elderly clients will be referred to Neighborhood Legal Services.According to Daisy Reyes, the event coordinator at LHAND, “We understand that our neighborhoods have fallen victim to predatory lenders, abusive loan servicers, economic hard times, mortgage rescue scam artists and other hardships. As a result, many are struggling with unaffordable mortgages pending foreclosures and uncooperative lenders unwilling to work out a reasonable solution.”For more information about the clinic, call Reyes at LHAND at 781-581-8611, NOAH at 617-418-8263 or NLS at 781-599-7730.Those planning to attend should bring all relevant documents concerning their foreclosure case.