Over the past year, tens of thousands of struggling Inland Empire homeowners have received notices of default – the first step in the foreclosure process – and many others will receive notices this year because they can’t make their mortgage payments for one reason or another.

This tide of foreclosures has left many of our neighborhoods peppered with vacant homes, brown lawns, green swimming pools, and other blight.

Buying, repairing and selling these foreclosed homes to owner occupants who can afford them is key to putting our region’s economy back on track, and it is one of the primary goals of the Inland Empire Economic Recovery Corporation (IEERC).

The Corporation is a nonprofit agency that will use a mix of public dollars and private investment to purchase foreclosure properties in bulk. The agency will then contract with local businesses such as plumbers, electricians, real estate agents, etc. to repair and resell the homes to owner occupants.

While getting new owners into the glut of foreclosed homes in our region is essential, we also must focus on helping distressed homeowners who can save their homes from foreclosure in the first place.

That’s why IEERC will also be hosting a slate of home foreclosure prevention seminars throughout the County of San Bernardino this year with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Representatives from lenders and mortgage institutions such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo Bank, and others will be at these seminars so homeowners can speak directly to them about modifying their loans or about other options to avoid foreclosure.

The County hosted a similar seminar in October with the help of HUD and the cities of Rancho Cucamonga, Upland and Fontana. It attracted more than 1,000 homeowners.

San Bernardino Associated Governments, which represents the County and its 24 incorporated cities, recently approved a $50,000 allocation to help fund the Corporation’s home foreclosure prevention seminars. The first seminar is scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 28 at the Jessie Turner Community Center in Fontana. Others will follow in cities and communities throughout the County of San Bernardino.

You can watch a short video about the earlier home foreclosure prevention seminar on my Web site at www.sbcounty.gov/biane.