N.C. expands help for homeowners facing foreclosure

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and deputy state banking commissioner Mark Pearce announced an expansion Tuesday of the Home Foreclosure Prevention Project.

The project, which connects homeowners with counseling, legal advice and non-profit organizations, has been available to those with sub-prime loans for almost a year.

On Tuesday, Cooper and Pearce announced that those resources would be offered to any North Carolina homeowner struggling to pay a mortgage.

Homeowners can access immediate, free assistance from HUD-certified counselors.at 1-866-234-4857 (weekdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

The state Office of the Commissioner of Banks estimates that more than 5,000 homeowners have been helped by the program since its creation in November 2008.

To publicize the message, the Center for Responsible Lending, with funding from the N.C. Association of Realtors, the State Employees Credit Union and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, is producing informational advertisements television and the Web.

Cooper reminded homeowners that, under North Carolina law, it is illegal to charge an upfront fee for foreclosure assistance.

The Attorney General’s office acted on more than 130 foreclosure assistance scams since January of 2008, Cooper said.

“Do not pay anyone that claims they will help you work out your mortgage loan,” Pearce said. “You can get better assistance for free from North Carolina’s fightNCforeclosure program.”

Foreclosure scams can be reported to the Attorney General’s office by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or filing a complaint online at www.ncdoj.gov.

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Latest Comments

LambeauSouth,

I don't think the Banks are innocent. Those caught up in this mess should fail as well. But a lot of this stemmed from the Community Redevelopmet Act that passed under Carter and strenghtened by Clinton which mandated that banks and other institutions lend to low income borrowers and relaxed the rules about documentation and other things. Thus opening the doors for banks to take much of the risk as they choose.

Some banks chose to take the risk and got bailed our for their stupidity. Sorry i did not clarify that position before. So i agree with you in saying that the banks helped create this mess as well.

Lloyd Christmas
September 17, 2009 4:40 p.m.

From what I see Bank of America isn't cutting it on the buying out of others. Somehow the escrow a friend of mine was lost in the transaction of Bank of America's purchase of the company she had her home financed with.

jrfergerson
September 16, 2009 8:49 a.m.

Animallover: You might want to get your ac checked. Mine is unit is 16yrs old and is in need of replacement, just can't afford it right now. My electric bill has been the same as yours, it keeps going up cause the ac never stops unless cooler weather comes.

miketroll3572
September 15, 2009 3:56 p.m.

And why does anyone need help? Bernanke said today that the depression was over. So no one should need financial help.

DeathRow-IFeelYourPain-NOT
September 15, 2009 2:50 p.m.

The problem is a mix of reckless lending forced on banks by the feds and risky borrowing by people wanting a house.

The Banks were not forced to purchase toxic loans and create this fiasco, they are far from innocent in this whole thing, and they get bailed out and the crooks continue to reap the rewards with bailouts and create mortage companies built on the same principles as before. I'm sorry but anyone that thinks these banks are innocent in any of this is just plain not paying attention.

If I saw the CEO and CFO's of any Banks on the street or in the poor house that would be my just rewards. Follow the greed and you will find the problem.