Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait! Helps Marylanders Struggling with Foreclosure

Kelly Vaughn, the Director of Community Outreach for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, has made it a mission to help Marylanders faced with foreclosure.

Vaughn recalled an incident in 2009, not long after she’d been to her first Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait! clinic in her capacity as the director. In her enthusiasm, she went out before the event and personally canvassed her neighborhood. Not long after the event, a neighbor called to let her know that another neighbor across the street was being evicted as they spoke. The landlord had failed to pay the mortgage on the home, leaving the tenants with nowhere to go. Witnessing that moment, Vaughn said, “made it real” for her.

Even now, as the market has started to stabilize, Maryland is still unfortunately disproportionately affected by high foreclosure rates. The Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait! clinics are among the best-attended of their kind nationally, and play a critical role in helping to keep Marylanders in their homes before it’s too late. In 2008, shortly after the housing crisis gripped the country, the Department of Housing and Community Development began the clinics — first at a county level and now with a regional focus and open to anyone. Vaughn noted the first one she attended in 2009 had more than 1,000 people present. More recently, as the market has become more stable, the clinics have attracted between 200 and 500 people.

Partnerships with federal and local organizations, like the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have been crucial to making these events successful. People who participate view Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait! as a trusted brand, Vaughn said. The day features presentations on everything from how to avoid fraud for both renters and homeowners to how to navigate through the mediation process. Attendees also receive one-on-one attention in the form of a chance to sit down with professionals and consult with them on how to remedy these situations.

“Our loan servicers, pro bono attorneys and housing counselors play a critical role here” in making the events as popular and successful as they have been, Vaughn said. “I look at it as … a road map to navigate through the waters of foreclosure. Homeowners didn’t get into their current situation overnight. The message is we want them to know they have options. We’ve continually heard that they find these valuable, and if they had to go through this alone, they’d probably give up. … They need hope, and this administration does care. They’re not in this alone.”

This year’s first Mortgage Late? Don’t Wait! clinic will be held on April 16 in Baltimore County. The event is free to attend, and online registration closes on April 14. Register here.

Two more clinics will be held: one in June in Prince George’s County at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex and third in September in Charles County at the College of Southern Maryland’s La Plata campus. For more information, visit mdhope.org.