As many a homeownership counselor will tell you, pre-purchase counseling plays a huge factor in determining an individual’s risk of foreclosure.  Many homeownership counselors have said that the individuals they counseled did not end up in sub-prime or Alt-A loans.   The San Francisco Chronicle confirmed that by covering a story about the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA).  Jane Duong, MEDA’s homeownership program manager, was quoted in the story, and she has also spoken at several National CAPACD conferences, and she is currently an advisor to the National CAPACD California Network.

Monterey County Herald published an interesting article about the linkage between minorities and foreclosure rates.  The Associated Press has conducted research that shows that “one out of five of the nearly 52 million homeowners with a mortgage spend 38 percent or more of their pre-tax income on their mortgage payment, property taxes, and insurance”.

In addition, more than 30 percent of Asian borrowers in California and Florida spend at least 38 percent of their income on housing, leaving them with very little cushion for medical and family emergencies.

Full article can be seen here.