New Yorkers in jeopardy of losing their homes were dealt a blow on Thursday as new state budget figures were released that appear to omit a critical funding request from providers of foreclosure prevention services.
Read moreBrooklyn Daily Eagle: Brooklyn facing crisis in housing theft and foreclosures, advocates say →
Ivy Perez, senior policy and research associate at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, which promotes affordable homeownership in New York, said that allowing the $20 million in annual foreclosure prevention funding to expire would be a serious mistake, given the extent of the crisis.
Read moreThe Daily Gazette: Foreclosure activity ticks upward in Capital Region in 2018 →
Several Capital Region counties saw an uptick in foreclosure activity in 2018. The state comptroller’s office earlier this month issued the latest of several reports on mortgage foreclosures it has compiled annually since the financial crisis a decade ago.
Read moreNew York State Senate and Assembly Join Communities First Coalition to Call for Continuation of Endangered Funding for Homeowner Assistance
“We thank the New York State Senate and Assembly for standing up for New York homeowners by asking the Governor to continue the critical, free nonprofit housing counseling and legal services that has been helping New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes for a decade. We urge the Governor to include the $20 million in the final New York State budget. With the continuation of funding, nonprofits will be able to keep their doors open and provide the essential housing counseling and legal services that allows New Yorkers to keep their homes and stay in the communities they love. With the rising threats to homeownership that could lead to countless New Yorkers being displaced and financially ruined, we now look to Governor Cuomo to agree to help our homeowners and save hundreds of nonprofit jobs statewide.” — Jacob Inwald, Legal Services NYC; Kirsten Keefe, Empire Justice Center; Christie Peale, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
New York Law Journal: NY Legislature Moves to Add Funding for Foreclosure Legal Service Providers →
New York state lawmakers formally moved Thursday to replenish funding this week for dozens of organizations that offer free housing and foreclosure prevention legal services for low-income individuals.
Read moreCommunities First Response to the New York Comptroller's Foreclosure Report
“Comptroller DiNapoli’s report shines a light on the great need for foreclosure prevention services state-wide. Thanks to our nonprofit network of housing and legal services, there has been an almost 50% drop in foreclosure filings over the last five years. But with funding running out for the program this month, 89 nonprofits across the state will be forced to shut down the free services that have been helping New York families for more than a decade. Without the continuation of funding in the State budget, New York is in danger of one again seeing a spike of foreclosures, causing immense damage to our neighborhoods. If $20 million is not allocated to ongoing foreclosure prevention services in the State budget by the end of this month, New Yorkers will be in danger of losing their homes – and the more than 25,000 families currently facing foreclosure will have to navigate that complicated and stressful process alone,” — Jacob Inwald, Legal Services NYC; Kirsten Keefe, Empire Justice Center; Christie Peale, Center for New York City Neighborhoods
New York Post: Funding for statewide nonprofit housing network may dry up
A statewide network of roughly 90 nonprofits aiding homeowners will run out of money on March 31, turning away the needy.
Read moreNY Law Journal: NY Foreclosure Legal Services in Jeopardy in Wake of Funding Cut Proposal (Password Protected) →
Two-thirds of legal service providers in New York that offer free counseling on foreclosure prevention for struggling homeowners could be forced to stop offering that aid in April if Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers don’t set aside funds for them in the state budget.
Read moreCity Limits: Save the NY Program that Keeps Homeowners Out of Foreclosure
Possibly the only positive outcome from the 2008 financial crisis was the creation of the HOPP program, which now accounts for two-thirds of New York’s foreclosure prevention efforts. Funded by legal settlements with the very financial institutions which threw our housing market into chaos, this program supported a network of 89 non-profit housing counseling and legal services programs that supported communities in every county of the state. Unfortunately, this community-saving program ends in March 2019.
Read moreNewsday Commentary: NY should continue to help homeowners
The network has helped more than 100,000 New York homeowners avoid displacement because of foreclosure, scams or mortgage distress. Its services are supported in part by bank settlement funds available through the state attorney general’s office. The only alternative is for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to include network funding for these programs in the state budget.
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