Home foreclosures are creeping up in Warren County, but there is help available for those struggling to understand and deal with mortgage problems.

There were 230 foreclosures in Warren County in 2007, according to Deborah Williams, executive director of nonprofit Housing Assistance and Development Services. Just through July of this year, there’s already been 183 - and 25 more are scheduled for August, meaning the likely total for 2008 will be more than 300, she said.

The nationwide housing crunch hasn’t hit Bowling Green nearly as hard as it has Michigan, California, Florida and other states, but local families are feeling the pinch, too; not just in Warren County, but regionwide.

“We see pockets in other counties that have higher numbers,” Williams said.

It’s not just people on low incomes who are struggling, she said. Middle-class families with good incomes are being pinched by rising prices across the board, sparked by higher fuel costs.

“We’ve seen people on very good spending plans, with very good savings accounts,” Williams said.

In nearly 30 years in the home-financing business, the only time she’s seen similar problems was in the late 1970s, she said.

“It’s not just re-pricing on mortgages. It’s everything,” Williams said.

To head off bigger problems here, local leaders moved several months ago to offer counseling for struggling homebuyers and show them avenues to more help. The organizers of the “Creating A Credit-Responsible Community” program - government officials, bankers and Realtors, AARP, and Kentucky Housing Corp. - met again Monday to talk about their latest moves.

Seven local banks are working with HANDS to put on clinics throughout the region, in 27 counties, Owensboro and Elizabethtown, Mayor Elaine Walker said.

“Take your mortgage in and they’ll help you understand it,” she said.

Counselors can work with lenders to lock in low-interest rates, especially if those mortgages are through one of the partnering banks, Walker said.

The clinics will also give pre-mortgage counseling for potential homeowners, she said.

“This actually is a great time to become a homeowner, for a person with a good job and a little money set aside,” Walker said.

And there’s more help on the way, or already available. In the works is a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank, Williams said.

“We have procured some funding to do several things,” she said. “One is to do some more outreach into the area, to attempt to get people focused on the status of their mortgages; to look at if they’re going to have an adjustable rate on their mortgages, whether they’re making their payments on time, things like that.”

There should also be some financial help to rescue those who have had unavoidable short-term problems, such as sudden job loss or major illness, that kept them from making a payment or two, Williams said. Getting that will hinge on receiving extensive financial counseling, she said.

HANDS is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to give mortgage counseling, and keeps three counselors on staff. Anyone with questions about their mortgage should call HANDS at 796-4176, Williams said.

“We can do that now. We don’t have to wait on the funding to come in,” she said.

For people wondering how they’re going to pay their mortgages, the most important thing is to call for help early, Williams said.

“Don’t ignore notices from mortgage companies,” she said. “The sooner you get into discussions ... the better off you are. The further it goes, the harder it is to get some assistance.”

If people don’t want to talk to lenders themselves, they can give HANDS permission to speak for them, Williams said.

A number of companies advertise that they’ll talk to lenders for people in trouble, but there’s a catch to those promises, she said.

“The problem is, there’s a fee. And they can’t do any more than we can do for free,” Williams said.

HANDS will explain documents and negotiate with lenders at no charge, she said. With new legislation on the way to deal with the housing crunch, there’s never been a better time for someone who’s struggling to get mortgage help, Williams said.