Q: You sold us our place over 20 years ago.

We thought that by now we’d have our house almost paid for, but we refinanced about five years ago for our son’s collage money and then in 2009 my husband got laid off. He finally got a job but it doesn’t pay as well as the other one did. We were just getting by when I lost my job so now we can’t make our mortgage payments. We’ve tried everything. We cut back on all our expenses, sold stuff, even borrowed a little from my folks. We’ve run out of options. What should we do now? We’ll lose our home soon.

A:  I’m so sorry to hear about your situation. You’re not alone, I’m sure you know. Many people are struggling just to get by and are close to losing their homes. There is a new law in Washington that took effect in July that mandates that lenders negotiate with borrowers and offer options and solutions. The law created real estate counselors who can go over your situation and try to renegotiate your mortgage so that you can afford the payments.


There are many non-profit organizations that offer this counseling and we have some in the Seattle-Tacoma area. To name just a few for you to call: Solid Ground 206-694-6766 or email: housingcounseling@solid-ground.org. Another is: Washington State Housing Finance Commission at 206-287-4449 or email: bill.conner@wshfc.org. Also you can call: Fair Housing Center of Washington in Tacoma at 253-274-9523 or email: info@fhcwashington.org. For Spanish speakers El Centro De La Raza may be able to help at 206-957-4639 or email at: agonzalez@elcentrodelaraza.org.

Folks, please pass this on to anyone you know that might need it.  Go to the HUD web site for more non-profit organizations that can help.