To a homeowner living in the mountain and Western Slope communities, a foreclosure can seem like a steep uphill climb. 

That's why a horde of housing counselors from the Denver metro area will descend on Glenwood Springs next Saturday for a free Foreclosure Prevention Event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Saturday, June 4, at the Glenwood Springs Community Center, located at 100 Wulfsohn Road, in Glenwood Springs.  

Hosted by the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline in cooperation with the Garfield County and Grand Junction housing authorities, the free bilingual event will serve as many as 50 homeowners who reside in Garfield, Delta, Eagle, Pitkin and Summit counties and who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments or are facing foreclosure.

Given that filings in two Western Slope Counties, Delta and Garfield, increased by a combined 28 percent during the first quarter of 2011, the Foreclosure Prevention Event will prove to be a timely resource for homeowners hoping to hold onto their homes or find another favorable outcome.

In fact, many of the communities in Central and Western Colorado have been hit especially hard by foreclosure, as a series of special circumstances have converged to negatively affect consumers along and near the I-70 corridor.

For starters, there is a considerable dearth of housing counselors available to help homeowners residing between the Denver Metro area and Grand Junction/Western Slope. Housing Counseling is among the most effective—and given that it’s free, inexpensive—ways to help homeowners either hold onto their home or find another favorable option.  

A face-to-face consultation with a knowledgeable housing counselor can make all the difference for a struggling homeowner. According to the Colorado Division of Housing, four out of five homeowners who have met with a Colorado Foreclosure Hotline counselor have achieved an outcome favorable to their specific situation.

Compounding the lack of homeowner education and adding to a challenging foreclosure situation are the high home values that you’ll often find in these areas, particularly in the tony resort communities in Summit and Pitkin counties.  When the value of their home is too high, a homeowner’s workout options may be limited—as they’ll be unable to qualify for the federal Home Affordable Modification Program, which limits housing value to under $729,000, and even the state’s 90-day Foreclosure Deferment Program, which limits value to $500,000 and under.

Inflating the numbers further? A significant portion of the homes in these communities are likely to be vacation homes or serve as a secondary residences-- increasing the number of “strategic defaults,” the term given to a homeowner who walks away from a mortgage when a home loan is greater than the appraised value.  

Combined, these challenges can magnify the more familiar consequences of increased foreclosure on a community: declining housing values and a glut of homes on the market that can make it difficult to sell. 

To participate in Saturday’s foreclosure prevention fair, a homeowner MUST call the Hotline at 1-877-601-4673 to schedule an appointment.  Appointments will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.  

If you live in Central and Western Colorado and are unable to attend, you’re welcome to call the Hotline to speak to a counselor over the phone. 

To a homeowner living in the mountain and Western Slope communities, a foreclosure can seem like a steep uphill climb.  But with help from a housing counselor, such a challenge is surmountable.