Agency helps residents navigate housing market, foreclosure

With average home prices at around $300,000 in Douglas County according to the Douglas County Housing Partnership, some members of the county's workforce find it difficult to live where they work, while others in the recessed economy face foreclosure.

Fortunately, Douglas County is home to one of the only multi-jurisdictional housing authorities in Colorado, which assists anyone from retail workers to nurses in finding a home they can afford in Douglas County.

"We are pretty unique," said Travis Anderson, program manager for the Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP). "Douglas County and the individual town (governments) have come together, which is rare to have all of them agree on something."

DCHP originally was developed to address the need for affordable housing in the county, assisting home buyers with down payments, home buying informational classes and financial counseling.

"In the summer of 2007, we began to see the number of foreclosures increase in the county, and the services we offered just kept growing," Anderson said. "We've been a resource for about 5,000 homeowners in trouble."

With financial support from the City of Lone Tree, the Town of Castle Rock, the Town of Parker and Douglas County, home owners are able to come in and have DCHP act as a mediator between their lender, Anderson said.

DCHP offers these services free of cost to the home owner.

"There are a lot of businesses who charge $1,000 to do the services we do for free," Anderson said. "We are finding people will pay a company, and it doesn't really do anything, because the only entity that can help (in a foreclosure) is the lender."

As a political subdivision and public corporation of the State of Colorado, Anderson said DCHP has the respect of the lending community, and as a result, many lenders are willing to work with the program because they are not in it to make money.

As the recipient of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Grant, the Douglas County Housing Partnership will continue to offer their services to the community free of charge next year.

"We even assist residents in south Arapahoe and Elbert counties who don't have an agency," Anderson said. "If someone finds themselves in trouble, it's important they contact someone like us as soon as possible."

The sooner you call someone, the better, Anderson said.

"It's easier to work with lenders and to get caught up if you only miss one payment as opposed to waiting six months down the line, with something like $20,000 in un-met payments," he said.

For more information regarding the Douglas County Housing Partnership or on attending a home-buyer class, call 303-784-7857 or go to douglascountyhousingpartnership.org.

Anna Haislip: 303-954-2457 or haislipa@yourhub.com