N. Mpls. clergy call for winter foreclosure moratorium
Clergy and community leaders in north Minneapolis are calling on five major banks to halt home-mortgage foreclosures this winter.
The city's north side was one of the first areas to be hit by the foreclosure crisis, and a May tornado ravaged some of the existing housing stock.
The Reverend Richard Howell of Shiloh Temple said he sees the issue as a matter of social justice.
"Since 2007, (there have been) 5,000 foreclosures on the north side [and] only a handful of loan modifications," Howell said. "We're about the poor, we're about the needy. A mandate has been placed upon us to help those who are in great need."
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A community group that has been working with the banks over the past year says the talks have produced few positive outcomes.
A spokeswoman for US Bank said it has worked with thousands of borrowers across the country on modifying their mortgages so they can stay in their homes.
Still, thousands have gone through foreclosures over the past four years.
Aleathea McWilliams is fighting to keep her home. She lost her job in 2010, and said she has been trying to work with the bank to modify the terms of her home loan so she can better manage her payments. But she said negotiating has been fruitless, and now she faces a foreclosure date of Feb. 13.
If she can't reach a deal with her bank, McWilliams said she will return to her home state of Alabama.
"I guess I have to leave. I've been here (in Minnesota) for 23 years, and I don't want to move back, but if I lose my home, I have to," McWilliams said.
Representatives of Wells Fargo and US Bank would not comment on the likelihood of a moratorium, but say they continue to work with borrowers on solutions so that they can remain in their homes.