Your Mortgage : Agencies Can Help When Financial Problems Strike

By DAVID W. MYERS

Sept. 22, 1991 12 AM PT

More than 2 million Americans are at least 30 days behind on their monthly mortgage payments, thanks largely to the weak economy and slumping home prices.

If you’re a homeowner who has been having some financial trouble, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development might be able to help.

HUD, along with private-sector businesses, provides grants and other types of financial aid to dozens of nonprofit counseling agencies across the nation each year. In turn, these agencies provide free or low-cost counseling to consumers who are facing financial problems.

There are four HUD-approved counseling agencies in the Southland:

* Better Valley Services, 8000 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood 91605, (818) 767-1128.

* Consumer Credit Counseling Service, 1308 W. 8th St., third floor, Los Angeles 90017, (213) 381-5661.

* Westminister Neighborhood Assn. Inc., 1776 E. Century Blvd., Los Angeles 90002, (213) 564-6781.

* Santa Barbara County Housing Authority, 815 W. Ocean Ave., P.O. Box 397, Lompoc 93436, (805) 736-3423.