Univision’s Los Angeles flagship KMEX-TV is teaming up with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday evening to help viewers keep their homes and avoid mortgage scams. The station will have more that 20 housing counselors who speak Spanish manning a phone bank to answer calls from homeowners.
From 5:00 to 7:00 pm on June 1st the volunteers will be on hand at the TV studios to help homeowners find the answers they need and learn about illegal housing mortgage refinancing/ modification scams. As the counselors listen to their stories, they will also determine if a homeowner has been, or is at risk of being scammed and provide information on how and where to report scams.
This event is part of HUD’s recently launched consumer protection campaign called “Know It. Avoid It. Report It.” This campaign aims to help Angeleno homeowners better protect themselves from scammers preying on the downturn in the state’s housing market. Hispanic and African American homeowners have been especially hard hit. The city of LA has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis and by predators who seek to profit from their misfortune. Millions of Californians are still underwater in their mortgages, in foreclosure, or at risk of entering foreclosure, and they need to protect themselves. During the telethon, live and pre-recorded cut-ins will be aired to drive that message home.
The phone bank on Wednesday will use HUD approved housing counselors and representatives from the LA Department of Consumer Affairs, LA City Housing Department and the California Department of Real Estate.
