The government is waging war against the axis of mortgage evils -- predatory lending, mortgage fraud, subprime loans and non traditional mortgages.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations, recently reminded fraud perps they could get 30 years in the slammer and $1 million in fines, or both.

On another front, Robert Steel, a U.S. Treasury undersecretary this week told reporters high-risk loan company meltdown is "manageable.. Hopefully, not in the same way as that other war.

Bank regulators fresh from the front rewriting rules for non-traditional mortgages seek the same concessions from the subprime sector..

Foreclosures, more and more often spawned by the evil axis, aren't taking any prisoners.

But they are taking homes.

While some markets revealed higher levels of foreclosure risk last year, others began to show less. Overall, however, the tide generally turned against home owners last year as the risk of foreclosure grew 10.2 percent nationwide, according to San Juan Capistrano, CA-based HomeSmartReports.

Responsible Lending, predicting as many as 2.2 million foreclosures in the next few years from the subprime sector alone, says it could get a lot worse.

The current strategy is going to cost a lot of homes.

One agency says the war will be won not during the forced retreat from defaults, but in the trenches of home buying, before home owners get anywhere near the front lines of foreclosure.

Assisting potential lost-home refugees on the brink of foreclosure is a common practice and a strategy employed by many, including NeighborWorks, a national nonprofit organization created decades ago by Congress to bolster community-based revitalization efforts. Its "Tips For Preventing Foreclosure" is based on sound training for counselors as well as support and sage advice for home owners in trouble.

If you need help now, the joint NeighborWorks-Homeownership Preservation Foundation hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) will point you in the right direction.

Last ditch efforts are better than nothing.

However, to more effectively undermine the forces that converge in foreclosure, NeighborWorks has also been a leader in prevention efforts.

Begin digging in long before home owners become home owners and they have a better chance of surviving as home owners, the agency reasons.

It's a strategy of credit, financial and home ownership counseling, workshops, seminars and classes and other education used to thoroughly train the troops for battle. Studies prove default and foreclosure prevention by very early intervention is the best defense.

NeighborWorks has also deployed "Ten Secrets Every Home Buyer Should Know" as a battle plan for home owners who want to know what they are getting into long before the lender has to take them out. Here's a look at what the war paper offers potential home buyers before they get in over their heads.

• Get help. Visit a housing counselor at a nonprofit organization where's there's no profit motive or potential for a conflict of interest. You want objective, unbiased information about finances, budgeting and other issues to expect during your initial home buying efforts. You need to learn the ropes, not be pressured with choices.

• Get ready. To approve your loan lenders look at the 4 Cs of Credit -- credit history, capital, capacity and collateral. The first three involve your finances and determine how well suited you are to repaying the debt. You have little control over the fourth because it considers the value and condition of the home you'll want to buy.

  The first three require that you take stock of your creditworthiness (get your credit report and go over it with your counselor), build and maintain capital for a down payment, home buying and loan costs as well as other costs associated with home ownership and be certain your income now and in the future can handle the loan you choose.

• Get money. Look for legitimate loan programs that can help you with special affordable loans or grants for the down payment, closing costs and other fees. The more you can leverage the deal, the better you'll handle the monthly payments.

• Get a lifestyle. In addition to the costs associated with home ownership it is also a way of life. You'll have to take care of your home and issues surrounding it. Maintenance, value enhancing improvements, grounds upkeep, mortgage management are among the many tasks you may not have now. Be sure you can handle the change.

• Get shopping around. For everything. In addition to shopping around for the home, likewise shop around for the mortgage, stuff to fill you home, service workers, insurance and any other purchase you can compare from one provider to the next. The change of lifestyle means being a smart shopper.

• Get money in the pipeline. Once your home work is done you still aren't ready to shop for a home. Get a loan commitment that amounts to a guarantee from a lender that a loan is yours for a set amount and specific terms. Sellers will see you as a serious buyer and the loan will keep you from looking at homes you can't afford. You are still responsible for getting a loan you can afford. Lenders will often lend you as much as your 4 Cs qualify you, but that may not be what you can truly afford.

• Get a good location. No home is an island. The neighborhood or community is a prime factor in how well your investment performs. Start your search for a home by neighborhood in terms of schools, access to work, school and activities, crime rates and other conditions that make for a good -- or bad -- village.

• Get an inspection. Don't buy into the seller's home inspection. He or she may be well intentioned, but one of your new lifestyle changes is developing certainty about the decisions you make. Use the seller's inspection to compare against your own, but get your own. It will give you a good idea of the condition of the home and, as such, it's true value. Make your contract contingent upon, among other things, you hiring your own home inspector.

• Get less pressure. Don't rush through the home buying process. You've waited this long to buy a home, a few more months, even a year isn't going to make a lot of difference, especially now that prices are flat and falling. Take the time to learn your new living style, to scour documents and to get up with issues you don't understand. Larger inventories are also giving you more time to shop around for the home itself. Use the time wisely.

• Get a clue. Home ownership almost always costs more than you think. Stay on top of savings and safe investments to build a cushion for those unexpected events, emergencies, routine maintenance and repairs.

NeighborWorks suggests building an annual emergency home fund equal to at least one mortgage payment and an annual maintenance and repair fund equal to one percent of your home's purchase price. That's over and above the six months of your salary you are supposed to have socked away for life's unexpected events.

No, it's not easy, but follow those "secrets" and there's a good chance you'll never have to use the "F" word.

Published: March 14, 2007

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.