Citi helps SoCal residents with mortgage payments

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- Citi Mortgage hosted a free event Tuesday to help Southern Californians having a difficult time making their mortgage payments.

Although the housing market is improving and home equity is on the rise, many are still having trouble staying afloat.

"I've tried to do this for so long, for months and months since November. It's always through a phone call... your file gets buried somewhere," Palm Springs resident Zenya Pasamonte said.

That's why Citi Mortgage holds its annual "Road to Recovery" home assistance event, which was put on this year at the Sheraton Hotel in Anaheim.

Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Citi, said about 60 percent of customers find some sort of solution for their mortgage problems at these kinds of events.

"We found that with events like this, customers can come talk to us on an individual one-on-one basis and very quickly get an answer to their questions (and) find out what options might be available to them," Rodgers said.

A free event is one of the best ways to get help with mortgages. One of the worst ways is to go to the service that guarantees it can help you. Some charge a fee up front, which is illegal.