The endgame is always in sight for housing counselor Lehua Rosa, who recently left the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center to open a foreclosure prevention and financial counseling service in her Kailua home.

Rosa’s new business, Lehua’s Housing Counseling, is near the old Cornet store parking lot where she spent many homeless nights battling a drug addiction.

"I’ve slept on the cement and eaten out of Dumpsters right down the street from where I live now," Rosa said.

Through the help of the now-defunct Waimanalo Community Development Corp. and Parents and Children Together, Rosa went from homeless to housing counselor. She ended the drug addiction that temporarily cost her custody of her three children, found work, and by 2002 had cobbled enough resources together to get off public assistance and buy her first home.

"Ultimately, I purchased three properties using an income defined by the federal government as very low," Rosa said. "Today I still own two of those properties and am working toward my dream house on the Big Island."

Rosa’s enthusiasm for homeownership and the security that it provides led her to become the first housing counselor for the nonprofit Hawaii HomeOwnership Center. After seven years at the center, Rosa has left to pursue her dream of business ownership. In addition to primary homeowners, Rosa will cater to clients such as nonoccupant owners and investors who are typically ineligible for nonprofit services. She is also seeking lender and loan officer referrals and group accounts.

Rosa plans to charge $50 to $100 for client assessments that identify possible foreclosure prevention or financial stability options. Development of a written action plan and execution will cost $500 and up, depending on the complexity of the situation, she said. If potential clients would be better served by a nonprofit, Rosa said she will make referrals.

Foreclosures in Hawaii, while still relatively small compared with other states like California, Nevada and Arizona, continues to grow beyond the level that nonprofits can serve, Rosa said.

Foreclosures here rose 29.29 percent to 1,055 filings in May, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures by state. The state’s foreclosure rate of one per every 486 local households earned it RealtyTrac’s 13th worst state-by-state ranking.

But the statistics might underestimate the full extent of Hawaii’s foreclosure problem, Rosa said.

"They don’t take into account the people who are staying afloat by racking up debt, spending their retirement money or borrowing from relatives," she said.

While the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center and a handful of other nonprofits and for-profit groups are offering foreclosure crisis counseling and financial literacy services, Rosa said demand has escalated.

"There is more than enough work for all of us," she said.

The foreclosure prevention case load at the Hawaii HomeOwnership Center was so heavy that five weeks ago the nonprofit stopped taking new clients, said Executive Director Dennis Oshiro.

"Our first priority was a concern for our existing 300 or so clients," Oshiro said.

Foreclosure prevention requests have risen since the center began serving these clients in February 2009, he said.

"Demand is rising," he said, adding that the center’s foreclosure-related calls are up to about 10 per day.

Oshiro said that the center will resume taking referrals on Wednesday but is still looking to fill two vacant counseling positions.

"You shouldn’t have to pay for this type of service, but it’s a challenge to get funding to allow us to increase staff size," he said.

While the center’s mission once focused on helping clients become homeowners, foreclosure counseling is gaining priority, Oshiro said.

"Now it’s equally important for the stability of the real estate market and communities that we maintain as well as create homeownership," he said.

While it is not necessary for those facing foreclosure to hire a housing counselor, most people who send in their own paperwork will get denied, Rosa said.

"I can help put together a packet to show why it makes sense for lenders to agree to your request," she said.

There are about a dozen options for troubled homeowners, ranging from refinancing to asking the lender to temporarily reduce or suspend payments to loan modifications, short sales and foreclosure, Rosa said.

"While it may be your house and your life, it’s simply a business decision to the lender," she said.

In cases where foreclosure is inevitable, Rosa concentrates on mitigating damage.

"Sometimes you just lose, and you need a plan to walk away while doing minimal damage to yourself," she said.

Owners who have lost their property to foreclosure may be able to buy another home within four years if they repair their credit, Rosa said.