Free Help to Avoid House Repossession in New Jersey
The foreclosure problem continues to haunt and threaten thousands of lives across the country. The problem has become so widespread that various federal and state programs were launched to prevent or abate its growth.
But despite the various foreclosure prevention programs in place, why are so many homeowners still going into foreclosure and fall victims to fraudulent foreclosure prevention schemes? One of the reasons pointed out by industry analysts is the unawareness of distressed homeowners about the existence of free programs that could help them avoid house repossession.
New Jersey’s Cape May County Advisory Committee on the Status of Women aims to remedy this problem of lack of awareness of the available free foreclosure prevention programs. The agency has made it a mission to disseminate information about the available free help to people who need foreclosure prevention and financial assistance.
Members of the commission met with Atlantic County Sheriff’s Department’s Chief of Staff Stephen L. Jackson to discuss the available programs for homeowners before and during foreclosure proceedings.
Commission chairwoman Kathy Bresan said that her agency will disseminate information about the free help provided by the state to distressed homeowners before the bank foreclose on their properties. She explained that once banks foreclosed on houses, it is a little late to get any help. She added that the available programs are designed to help homeowners who are in trouble and not those whose houses have been foreclosed.
Some programs that are available for free to distressed homeowners at risk of foreclosures are the NJHMFA Mortgage Assistance Pilot, an initiative that provides financial assistance for mortgage payments and utility bills such as sewer, property taxes and water and condominium association fee, and the Mortgage Stabilization Program which encourages mortgage servicers to refinance or modify eligible troubled loans into affordable payments.
Additionally, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Universal Service Fund and NJ Shares are programs that give alternative assistance to homeowners while they are paying their mortgage.
There is also the New Jersey Foreclosure Mediation Program that provides free mediation and counseling for homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure.
In Cape May County, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency had partnered with Atlantic Human Resources and Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling and AHOME to provide foreclosure mediation.
