The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a series of public seminars in eight cities to teach the public about avoiding predatory lending and foreclosure. The seminars are produced through HUD’s Patricia Roberts Harris National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA), a Washington, DC-based subsidiary that conducts fair lending courses for housing professionals. The courses will cover lending discrimination and predatory lending, financial aspects of lending, foreclosure prevention and borrower/buyer beware strategies. The first event will be held Oct. 5, in Marina Del Rey, Calif., west of Los Angeles. The other two- and three-day seminars will be held in Cleveland, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Stockton, Calif. “In order to combat discriminatory lending and fraud, community advocates must be armed with education, training, and strategies to help the public,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “These seminars will allow participants to begin to obtain advice and, if necessary, file fair housing complaints.” The seminars will explain the mortgage process using hands-on demonstrations with actual loan documents and paperwork. The events are free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis. Write to Austin Kilgore.