Service helps brokers, agents throw a lifeline

Lenders aren't the only ones looking for solutions.

Julia Iden is trying to help the people who are among the first a homeowner might call: real estate brokers. When people can't refinance, they often try to sell, only to run smack into a stagnant housing market. Those agents want to help but don't know how. Enter Iden and her Raleigh company, Mortgage Education, which offers classes to mortgage brokers and real estate agents on how to help people avoid foreclosure.

Last year, Iden started a class, "The Art of the Short Sale," named for the procedure in which a bank agrees to let the borrower sell the home for less than he or she owes. During the four-hour sessions, Iden gives agents step-by-step advice on how to take advantage of other options besides foreclosure. She said that all of her classes sell out and that she gets calls from groups across the state requesting classes.

"When people fall behind in their mortgage, they think they have only two options -- pay in full or foreclosure," Iden said. "There are lots of other options."

To contact Iden call (919) 556-4822 or go to her Web site at www.mortgageducation.com.

Homeowners can also turn to the courts for help. Last month, more than 100 members of the N.C. Academy of Trail Lawyers attended a class in which foreclosure experts from across the state provided information on how to defend people against unfair foreclosures.

"We know this is a serious problem in North Carolina," said Mike McLaughlin, spokesman for the Trial Lawyers. "Hopefully we can do something to help."

The lawyers who completed the training have agreed to take one case free of charge, McLaughlin said. The cases will be referred to the academy through the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh. McLaughlin said that only low-income people will be eligible for the free assistance. However, the lawyers who take the training can be hired by anyone needing legal representation at a foreclosure hearing.

To find out more go to http://ncfreelegalhelp.org.