Mortgage resource center visits Minden

With more than three dozen Douglas County properties in foreclosure and 52 in the pipeline, a mobile resource center visited Minden on Tuesday to provide help.

Jill Perry, the Northern Nevada director of Credit Counseling Affiliates, said many people don't contact their mortgage lender when they begin to default on a loan. In some cases, people tend to blame the lender.

"When you blame someone, you don't want to talk to them," Perry said.

According to RealtyTrac, 40 properties in Douglas County are in foreclosure, and 52 more have started the process.

If a person begins to default on a loan, the individual usually can avoid foreclosure because the lender is willing to work something out, said Tony Ramirez, director of the Reno field office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The longer a person waits, the more limited the options become, so don't wait, he said.

"Nobody wants to take your home away from you," Perry said.

Representatives from Housing and Urban Development, Credit Counseling Affiliates, Wells Fargo, Countrywide, the Mortgage Bankers Association and JP Morgan Chase were at the library.

Perry encourages people to call the nonprofit CCA and at (800) 451-4505 to make an appointment.

Other options include counseling over the phone and the Internet.

"It's a little easier to talk to me than to talk to a lender," Perry said.