Mortgage crisis sparks town hall discussion

The mortgage crisis gripping the Las Vegas Valley has left many homeowners disenfranchised and looking for ways to escape the quagmire.

A panel of public officials Thursday tried to address some of the most pressing questions while touching on the reasons why so many residents are either losing their homes or struggling to hold on.

More than 100 people attended a town hall discussion on what has become a painfully familiar topic in a state that leads the nation in foreclosures.

The panel, which included two Clark County commissioners, talked about how predatory lending compounded the crisis.

A few panel members acknowledged that the buyers bear some responsibility for taking on bad loans but also argued that banks have an ethical right not to dupe people.

"Anybody, regardless of how intelligent you are, can get conned," said Gail Burks, president of the Nevada Fair Housing Center.

Minorities with low to modest incomes were disproportionately given subprime loans, though many could have qualified for prime loans, said Frank Hawkins, executive director of the Community Development Programs of Nevada.

Blacks make up about 7 percent of the county's population, yet account for almost 44 percent of the area's sub-prime loans, Hawkins said.

Cracking down on predatory lending is becoming more difficult as the cash-strapped state prepares to shut down its consumer affairs office, said Leticia Bravo, Nevada's ombudsman for consumer affairs for minorities.

Commissioner Susan Brager, who works in real estate, said another wave of foreclosures is set to hit in the next few weeks.

Brager and others emphasized that homeowners do not need to default on their payments to qualify for the loan modification program, but they noted they often must pester the banks.

"I know people who have tried to get their loans modified," Hawkins said. "You have to call every day."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.