Where to Look for Help

Here are some places to turn for help in dealing with foreclosure:

--Consumer Credit Counseling Service has 12 Los Angeles County offices that provide free financial counseling, a debt consolidation service (costs less than $20 a month) and mediation with lenders. A booklet about how consumers can prevent foreclosure is mailed at no cost. 1308 W. 8th St., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, 90017. (213) 386-7601.

--Better Valley Services, a HUD-sponsored agency, offers free mortgage counseling for those with FHA-insured loans in the San Fernando Valley. 8000 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood, 91605. (818) 767-1128.

--Westminster Neighborhood Assn., a HUD-sponsored agency, offers free mortgage counseling for those with FHA-insured loans in South-Central Los Angeles. 1776 E. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, 90002. (213) 564-6781.

--The Department of Veterans Affairs loan servicing department provides financial counseling and will work with borrowers of VA-guaranteed loans on work-out solutions. The booklet, “Pointers on Foreclosures,” is available free of charge. Federal Building, 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90024. (310) 575-7161.

--The Federal Reserve System Board of Governors distributes, at no cost, five pamphlets detailing mortgage management. MS-138, Washington, D.C., 20551. (202) 452-3245.

--Consumers may want to brush up on mortgage and foreclosure regulations detailed in the California Civil Code, Section 2924.