Special Report

ON THE COVER

American Nightmare on page 15

Twice Foreclosed

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Perry Ohren

Barbara Nurenberg

jobs; these are women who never worked
in their lives, but now have to because
their husbands lost their jobs or they
became widowed:' said Nurenberg, "and
the Jewish community is not immune
from this.
"Also, people who lose their jobs have
to forget their old job titles and try to
convert other skills into possibly lower
paying work; they must come to grips
with their new situation."

Better Days?
Some real estate agents are optimistic
about the future of local market condi-
tions.
"The warm weather is here, and that's
the high point of the year in the real
estate market, when people really get
excited again about making a change in
their lives and looking for new homes:'
said Bruce Schwartz, president of In
House Realty, a partner company of
Quicken Loan/Rock Financial, the largest
online mortgage company in the nation.
"The foreclosures often are caused by
sub-prime lenders (giving higher priced
loans for people with bad credit) and pre-

Bobbie Miller

David B. Friedman

payment penalties, where the owner is
hit by a payment penalty for selling less
than three years into the loan contract.
The main thing is that sellers have to be
realistic about the price they're asking or
the home will just languish on the market.
They usually end up cutting the price
anyway.
Bobbie Miller of Remax-in-the-Hills
in Bloomfield Hills said, "The times are
challenging and you just have to work
harder." She has been selling homes for
25 years, and figures the current market
is down 10-15 percent. Top seller among
80 real estate agents in the company, her
static inventory has climbed from 30 to
60 homes in recent months, most in the
$400,000-$600,000 category.
"Foreclosure is the dreaded word in
this business, and it's upsetting when
homeowners find themselves in 'upside-
down' positions in the marketplace
— where the mortgage exceeds the value
of the home."
David Friedman, president of Friedman
Real Estate Group in Farmington Hills,
sees the market as a "mixed bag" right
now. "I believe in Michigan, and I feel the

Agencies Help

ebrew Free Loan Association
in Bloomfield Township has
experienced a 300 percent
increase in its caseload in the past year
from people who "are desperate to
avoid losing their homes" and want "to
continue living normal lives," according
to Executive Director Mary Keane. The
112-year-old organization provides inter-
est-free loans, mainly to needy Jewish
people.
"The poor economy is affecting every-
one," she said. "Doctors, lawyers, engi-
neers, businesspeople who must maintain
a cash flow – everyone is being hit hard."
Northern suburban residents now
comprise a greater share of Hebrew Free
Loan's assistance: West Bloomfield, 38
percent; Farmington Hills, 25 percent,
and Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham,19

16

June 21 . 2007

percent.
Applicants must show a clear need
to at least two of the organization's 34
board members, and they usually get
three years to repay the loan. "We've
heard some surprising stories," said
Keane. "The situation is grim."
Yad Ezra, the kosher food pantry in
Berkley, has seen a 30 percent hike in
the past year in Jewish families needing
assistance, from 1,150 to 1,400 families,
says Lea Luger, assistant development
director. "People have been blindsided
by the changes in the economy, many of
them elderly people without adequate
savings," she pointed out.
"People have lost their jobs and their
homes and moved in with relatives; being
Jewish no longer makes them safe."
Luger said some former Yad Ezra food

Lea Luger

market will pick up momentum — but
it's difficult when many companies and
jobs are moving out of the state. Many
builders and small mortgage companies
have closed up shop themselves in the
past year." Friedman says some of the
blame goes to Michigan's high unem-
ployment rate — 6.5 percent in March
— compared to 3.2 percent in northern
Florida, where he also does business.
Meanwhile, help may be on the way
from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two
agencies created by Congress to pump
money into the home mortgage busi-
ness. They are developing new types of
loans, to be available by mid-summer, to
help distressed borrowers with high-risk
mortgages keep their homes and avoid
foreclosure.
"It's a tough market:' said one real
estate agentAmong other things,
everyone seems to have their hand in
your pocket. Home sellers want to know
`What's in it for me' before they'll list a
home with you. On both sides, they want
us to cut our commissions in order to get
their business. But it's all part of the game
— and we'll persevere."

donors now need the food from the pan-
try. "It's a shocking turnaround."
Recipients can choose 50 pounds of
food from the pantry a month, including
toiletries and cleaning materials. Non-
Jewish clients can get 50 pounds one
time only.
Donations and fundraisers provide
about $1 million to obtain 800,000
pounds of food yearly for Yad Ezra,
Project Chessed of Jewish Family
Service (JFS) helps those in the Jewish
community who are medically uninsured
during these difficult economic times.
Started in December 2004, the pro-
gram provides qualified Jewish partici-
pants ages 19-65 with free or nominal-
fee medical care – including vision and
dental – donated by local professionals in
various specialties. Patients also receive
assistance with prescription medication
and case management follow-up – all
done discreetly and confidentially.
Since the program began, 526 people

Andrew Koploy never thought Jewish peo-
ple could get involved in the foreclosure of
homes – specifically him. But he lost two
homes in Southfield to foreclosure in the
past year.
Koploy, 60, and single, was earning
$5,000 monthly as an appraiser/auction-
eer of machinery and equipment when
the economic downturn put him out of a
job. He was paying $2,200 a month on
mortgages and home equity loans on a
home where he lived near Southfield and
11 Mile roads, and $1,200 monthly on a
home he rented out near Greenfield and
12 Mile roads. Both had several liens from
mortgage companies around the nation.
Because of the liens, he says he didn't
even qualify to file for bankruptcy.
"After I got three months behind in my
mortgage payments, the banks started
foreclosure proceedings," Koploy said. "I
lived there 12 more months without pay-
ing anything while they sought buyers for
the homes before I was evicted. The renter
got nervous and left early. The whole thing
was a terrible experience."
Koploy now earns about $1,000 a month
as a driver for a transportation company
taking vehicles from dealerships to auction
sites. He gets some assistance in money,
food stamps and health care from Jewish
Family Service, and shares an Oak Park
house with two other men, paying $100
weekly for rent.
"As a Jew, it was hard to believe I could
end up in foreclosure, but it can happen
to anybody," he said. "It seems impossible
to get a decent-paying job around Detroit
anymore."

- Bill Carroll

have been served by nearly 500 physi-
cians and through partnerships with
William Beaumont Hospitals, Botsford
Hospital, Detroit Medical Center, Henry
Ford Health System, Karmanos Cancer
Institute, Millennium Diagnostic Center,
Providence Hospital and Medical Center,
St. John Macomb, St. Joseph Mercy
Oakland and Straith Hospital.
Others have been referred to other
agencies or helped with Medicaid and
MiChild applications. Another program
goal is to decrease inappropriate and
costly use of hospital emergency depart-
ments.
"This is not going to slow down," said
Norm Keane, JFS director. "People just
need to know this is a resource for them.
Many don't know who probably would be
eligible."
If you need assistance or are a physi-
cian who wants to volunteer, call (248)
592-2321.

- Bill Carroll