Study takes aim at foreclosure crisis

Program's goal: to better educate home buyers

John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 17, 2007 at midnight

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Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, and educator Rickie C. Keys on Wednesday unveiled plans for a study and educational program they hope will help slow record foreclosures in Colorado, especially in poor and minority neighborhoods.

Groff, who is president pro tem of the state Senate, also is the executive director of the University of Denver Center for African American Policy.

Keys, who already has started the study, is a senior fellow at the DU Center for African American Policy, focusing on health and social policy issues.

His study will examine 10 issues, including financial services and crime prevention. The study also will look at what services are available, which ones are lacking and how to provide them, Keys said.

Eventually, the program could serve as a one-stop-shopping intermediary for banks and other lenders that want to better serve minority communities, he said.

Keys, founder and president of Renewal Financial Services LLC in Shreveport, La., launched a similar program in Shreveport.

"We have significantly more comprehensive data and partnerships in Denver than we do in Shreveport," Keys said. "As a result, I believe that we can have a significant impact on Denver, generally, and Montbello and other neighborhoods."

Montbello, which has a large black population and a growing Hispanic one, has been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Groff, who sponsored two bills involving mortgage fraud and foreclosures, said that Keys' program, which will rely heavily on neighborhood churches to get the word out, serves a role that legislation can't address.

As an example, Groff noted that he recently sponsored a bill addressing disparities in medical coverage.

"But if I go out and eat a Big Mac every day, it doesn't matter," he said.

"The government can only do so much."

A bill he said could help would be one requiring mortgage brokers in Colorado to be licensed - to "rein in unscrupulous mortgage brokers."

In addition to the new laws, there also needs to be "personal responsibility" and knowledge by the consumer, which is what Keys' program addresses, Groff said.

And buying a home is complicated, he said.

He noted that even as a lawyer, he didn't understand all the pages of documents he signed when he bought homes.

"And I'm a relatively sophisticated buyer," Groff said.

The Keys program will help buyers make better decisions when buying homes, Groff said.

"Ultimately, it will create wealth" in minority communities, Groff said.

10 key 'renewal' points to be examined

• Partnerships

• Faith/community resources

• Youth/educational programs

• Financial services

• Housing opportunities

• Small businesses