Senator Anthony H. Williams Organizes Foreclosure Mediation Event in Delaware County

On June 21st, Senator Anthony H. Williams held a residential mediation event for Delaware County homeowners at the Yeadon Borough Hall. The event, which was organized in conjunction with the American Society of Certified Housing Executives (ASCHE) and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), served to provide expert advice and hands-on negotiation to homeowners battling with mortgages that cost more than the value of their home.

“There are, unfortunately, many people who are concerned about losing their property and have done everything they possibly can,” Senator Williams said during the event. “They are working everyday and are either hiding under some level of guilt, pain, or frustration – not knowing that a lot of us are in a similar situation. But there is something you can do to get yourself out of that situation.”

Yeadon’s Mayor, Dolores Jones-Butler, and the Yeadon Borough Council Vice President, Nelva Wright, also attended alongside the dozens of homeowners who showed up to get assistance.

“This [counseling initiative] is the best thing for homeowners, but unfortunately people think that no one can help them,” Mayor Butler said. “Then when you call them and say, ‘there’s some help,’ they’re still not inspired. It’s almost a word-of-mouth thing; the people who are here today will go back and say, ‘I got some help.'”

For homeowners who were unable to attend the event, Mayor Butler and Senator Williams had some words of advice on how to engage politicians in mitigating the impact of the foreclosure crisis for local residents:

“When your congressmen and councilperson wanted to get elected, they knocked on your door; they sent you literature in the mail; they were on the phone because they wanted something,” Mayor Butler said. “Now if you want something from him, you do the same thing. He cannot come to your house to see if you have a problem; you must go there. If you have a problem, you do like he did: you call him; you write a letter; you call him again; you knock on his door – you see his car? You stop him or her because you have a problem.”

Meanwhile, Senator Williams offered another practical approach:

“We need to continue to change the policies and law as it relates to homeownership and delinquency,” he said. “There are some obvious things, such as credit. Coming out of a recession, there are people looking to refinance their homes that have to go through a credit process. Well, their credit is probably not going to be the best, so it’s a busy cycle. The logic would be to improve the practical application of how we work with the homeowners in those areas.”