Foreclosure can be foiled Homeowners who fall behind on mortgage payments don't need to lose their houses. By Gayle Pollard-Terry, Times Staff Writer October 8, 2006   Facing foreclosure on her three-bedroom condo in Westminster, Kimberly Latji avoided phone calls from her lender and watched as letters soliciting offers of help poured into her mailbox. Lajti, a nurse and single mother, is among a growing number of Southern California homeowners who can't pay their mortgages.  In Orange County, the rate rose 9%, to 606 properties, in the same period, while Riverside and San Bernardino counties posted a steep 52% increase, to 2,717 properties. These numbers are expected to rise, he added. As the numbers grow, so too do the bailout offers. "When my house was in default, I got letters — at least eight a day," Latji said. "They were telling me they could save my house, they could refinance me so that I could have a lower payment, so I could stay where I was." Twice she paid a $350 appraisal fee. "They made promises, but nobody could help me." "It's not always best to go with the flier stuck on your door," she said. "Some of them are honest. Some of them aren't." Deluged with pitches from foreclosure specialists — lenders, investors, real estate agents, counselors and consultants — desperate homeowners face a daunting challenge: how to tell the legitimate businesses from the predators who charge excessive fees, fail to deliver services, pressure them into signing away the property for little or nothing or offer lowball prices that siphon off years of equity.  Acting early is best. "For the person who is still in that first early stage, one to three months behind, the lender is usually more receptive to the possibility of a workout plan," said Pittman, of By Design Financial Solutions, whose services are free. Like many homeowners in trouble, Latji, the Westminster condo owner, wanted to hold onto her home. Plus, her teenage son, the only one of her three children still living at home, didn't want to change schools. Lajti had gotten into financial straits after taking six weeks of unpaid leave from her job as a nurse. She was paralyzed with grief after the loss of a young patient who was like a son to her. To stave off the foreclosure sale and support her own son, for whom, she said, she receives no child support, she worked 70 hours a week and borrowed money from relatives. But that still wasn't enough. Nearly three months late on the loan and about to let the bank take her house, she called Ron Anderson, a real estate agent with Century 21 Success in Signal Hill who specializes in foreclosures. His business cards and fliers read: "You've got options."  and "Foreclosure happens." Anderson advised Latji to sell. "He just gave me peace of mind," she said. "He said, 'It's too hard to make those payments…. This happens all the time. Don't beat yourself up.' " The sale closed earlier this month. "I was ready to let it go into foreclosure and just let it go," Latji said. "And now I'm walking away with $50,000."                                gayle.pollard-terry@latimes .com.