Foreclosure Meetups

Ryan Grim and Lucia Graves have a write-up on the joint meetup events put together by the Huffington Post and Dylan Ratigan (disclosure: SEIU emailed some of our activists to attend as well). The stories coming out about what homeowners are going through are truly incredible. But what’s most important is the way homeowners are coming together to help each other — by sharing their stories, providing advice and making clear that no one is in this alone.

One homeowner, Richmond Burton, suggested that there should be “support groups” for people going through similar experiences with their bank as they attempt to win a modification, get approval for a short sale, struggle to make the mortgage, fight the bank in court or simply walk away.

That suggestion was made a reality Tuesday night in meetups stretching from Seattle, Wash., to Boynton Beach, Fla. Many of those who attended the gatherings, organized through Meetup.com, said afterward that they want to get together with other homeowners again. So HuffPost has scheduled the next meetup for the second Tuesday in March, and each subsequent meeting will also be held on the second Tuesday of the month. Individual groups, however, are free to modify those plans. If you’re interested in organizing a meetup and need help doing it, email us at lucia@huffingtonpost.com, arthur@huffingtonpost.com or ryan@huffingtonpost.com. If you’re a real estate professional or attorney with experience in short sales and foreclosures who can help with the meetups, contact us or find your local chapter.

Angie Johnson, who also attended the Seattle meetup, said that as a Quaker, she believes protests and possible arrests are “totally ok,” and offered to study up on filming events as well as the finer points of peaceable protests. “We’re talking about picketing at foreclosure auctions,” Johnson told HuffPost in an email. “We all left feeling empowered, and far, far, less polarized.”

Boy, that last passage certainly reminds me of UK Uncut

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