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Life - Friends & Family

Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009

Helping families keep homes

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Ana Rocha is on the frontline of this region's foreclosure battlefield.

As a housing program case manager for Community Housing and Shelter Services in Modesto, Rocha provides free counseling to families fighting to save their homes from foreclosure.

The nonprofit organization is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which makes sure the advice offered is neutral and not designed to profit from distressed homeowners.

Rocha, 32, has worked on housing issues for 12 years, including spending about a decade in Stanislaus County's housing and redevelopment department.

She grew up in Salida, graduated from Davis High School in 1994 and earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from California State University, Stanislaus. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

While she became a homeowner after inheriting her mother's Salida home, Rocha bought her first home this month in Modesto. She and her fiancé, Bryan San Nicolas, plan to live there after marrying in April.

Q: How did you get involved in homeownership issues?

A: Originally, I wanted to go to law school, but I did an internship working for a nonprofit housing developer. I saw there was a real need in Stanislaus County for affordable housing ... and for educating people about how to get into the right housing.

Q: What do you do as a housing program case manager?

A: I deal with homeownership issues and provide foreclosure prevention counseling. I help people analyze their financial and personal situation.

Q: Can you help people save their homes?

A: Not everyone at risk of foreclosure is going to save their home. We work on a case-by-case basis. When people make the effort to get help, they improve their chances. At least we can educate them on their best options.

Q: What gets homeowners into mortgage trouble?

A: When you buy a home, there's a mass of paperwork you're supposed to read, and the average buyer gets lost. Sometimes they trust the wrong person to explain everything to them.

Q: What can homeowners do to help themselves?

A: Some people have never done a family budget where they've written down what they spend compared to what they earn. ... Budgeting for the home is important, and you must continue to save for the house after you buy it. There always are maintenance issues and unexpected disasters that come up, whether it's for a new roof you'll eventually have to get, a broken air conditioner or termites.

Q: What don't people understand about foreclosure?

A: There are consequences, like taxes (that might be owed if loans aren't repaid). And you're still responsible for that home until the bank takes ownership, so there are liabilities. ... And you have to have a backup plan if you're not going to be able to keep your home because you'll have to save enough to pay the first month's rent and a deposit on a rental.

Q: What is the upside of the housing crisis?

A: There is a great opportunity for first-time buyers who had been priced out of the market to now go out and get a home. ... The working poor finally have a chance to own their own home.

Q: Why do you like your job?

A: The best part is being able to explain things to people and give them hope. Sometimes, people thank me for making them realize what they really can or cannot afford.

Q: What's the worst part of your job?

A: I inevitably meet people who have really been hurt, and I realize there's no chance of them saving their home. When you see the victims who trusted the wrong people or didn't read what they signed, it's hard.

Q: What advice to you have for young people?

A: Learn how to budget your money. You need to know the difference between what you need and what you want. You have to sacrifice and save up to get enough money for the big things in life. As a young adult, I lived off credit, but I learned my lesson.

Q: What other housing advice do you have?

A: Education is the key, whether it is to properly get yourself into a home or to protect yourself as a renter.

Community Housing and Shelter Services is at 823 15th St., Modesto; 527-0444.