HOC In The News: Homeowners concerned by the housing economy

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Homeowners concerned by the housing economy

Few attend Clarksburg forum designed to give buying, selling advice

by Titus Ledbetter III
Gazette Newspapers
May 21, 2008

In the two and a half years Mike Cancel has been living in the Highlands at Clarksburg community, he has seen several of his neighbors put their homes up for sale.

‘‘I’ve talked to a few of my neighbors and many of us are kind of struggling,” he said. ‘‘The term you hear a lot is ‘house poor.’ Everything that we have goes into the house. We have very little personal income to do things like maybe go out to dinner or recreation or things like that.”

Cancel is also noticing that houses twice the size of his are selling for less than he paid for his home, and he is concerned about being able to recoup his investment.

He is not alone with his concerns, some say, and that is one of the reasons the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce sponsored a homeowner’s forum at Little Bennett Elementary School on Saturday.

The chamber, real estate professionals, and county and state officials said they wanted to give homeowners, or would-be homeowners, some advice on buying and selling a home.

The forum drew a small audience, but those who attended listened to three panels of real estate salespeople, mortgage loan officers and banking experts give plenty of tips.

‘‘I wanted to basically get the different perspectives and I think the panels they assembled here are really great,” Cancel said. ‘‘It has been very educational and informative.”

The number of presenters was nearly double the dozen of residents who attended.

‘‘We were looking for a bigger turnout,” said Pat Darby, the president of the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce. ‘‘The panelists were fantastic.”

The chamber spent six weeks planning the program, he said.

Mel Kirksey of Re⁄Max Realty Centre in Clarksburg said Tuesday that 417 homes are under foreclosure in the county.

The most common mistake homeowners make when they are trying to avoid foreclosure is not contacting their lenders for help fast enough, said Tom DeBrine, a manager of the single-family homeownership program of the county’s Housing Opportunities Commission.

‘‘They may be able to work with you and you might be able to pull things together,” DeBrine said outside of the forum. ‘‘That is probably the biggest mistake. They are mad because they are late and delinquent and they are getting notices from the lender, which they may not even open. They are just angry and they don’t want to do anything.”

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said during the forum that many of the housing problems in the county, including foreclosures, are the result of the state of the national economy.

‘‘Without the help of the state and federal government, we will not get ahead of this problem,” he said. ‘‘It is a real problem of great magnitude.”

Darlene Fairfax of Gaithersburg said she might move to Clarksburg in the next four to six months.

‘‘They have developed Clarksburg in a thoughtful way, more than a rapid way,” she said.

Fairfax also said she thought that hearing from the housing experts was beneficial.