New York’s attorney general will use money from a February foreclosure abuse settlement to replace the state’s expiring Foreclosure Prevention Services Program.
The attorney general’s office plans to channel $60 million over three years into a new initiative called the Homeowner Protection Program. The new program is slated to receive $20 million in its first year — $16.1 million for foreclosure prevention services that are free to homeowners and $3.9 million for training, technical assistance, and other support services.
The new initiative replaces the Foreclosure Prevention Services Program, which ends Oct. 1. That program helped fund nonprofit housing counseling agencies that assist homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure. State law mandates that 90-day pre-foreclosure notices given to homeowners include a list of at least five nonprofit housing-counseling agencies.
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Statewide, 35 legal services organizations and 59 housing counseling agencies will receive funding under the new Homeowner Protection Program.
“Funding housing counseling and legal services is an essential first step to help more families stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a news release. “As we continue to investigate the mortgage crisis that has hurt communities in every corner of this state, we must ensure that homeowners get the expert guidance and legal representation they need to protect their rights before it’s too late.”
Funding for the new program comes from a February foreclosure abuse settlement involving the country’s five largest mortgage servicing banks, the federal government, and 49 states. New York’s share of the settlement was $136 million.
More than 140,000 mortgages across the state are seriously delinquent, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. Seriously delinquent mortgages are in foreclosure or in arrears for more than 90 days.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
