Blog: FREE Webinar to Help NJ Residents Avoid Foreclosure
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Clarifi, the region's leading housing counseling agency, is partnering with New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education (NJCFE) to hold a free webinar to help local residents take action to avoid foreclosure.
The webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 30th at 4:00pm EST and will be hosted by Stephanie Bittner, Clarifi's Community Outreach and Education Manager for New Jersey.
The 'Home Foreclosure Webinar' will help struggling New Jersey homeowners:
- See what steps to take after receiving a late or foreclosure notice
- Understand various foreclosure prevention options, including federal, state and local programs, and mortgage modifications
- Identify and avoid mortgage help scams
- Learn about the free help housing counselors—like the ones at Clarifi—can provide.
"We want struggling homeowners in Atlantic County—and really everywhere in South Jersey—to know that there are options that can assist them during this stressful time. It's also critical that they know they shouldn't have to pay someone for help with saving their home," says Bittner.
How to Register:
Clarifi and NJCFE's Home Foreclosure Webinar is free and open to the public. Individuals are encouraged to in advance at http://www.njcfe.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=752758.
An archived copy of the webinar will be made available on Clarifi and NJCFE's websites for those who can't join live.
Families in Atlantic County have remained financially battered by casino closures, a stale job market and economic uncertainty. Atlantic City's housing market has been hit especially hard. In 2015, its foreclosure rate of three percent was more than four times the national average, according to Realty Trac.
One option to help struggling homeowners is The New Jersey HomeSaver program, which launched last year and offers up to $50,000 in mortgage assistance. Homeowners may be eligible for the program if they meet any of the following criteria:
- Laid off, underemployed or have another financial hardship through no fault of their own
- Struggling to pay their mortgage or are behind on their payments
- Owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth
Homeowners do not need to be behind in their mortgage to qualify for HomeSaver. The program also must be applied for through an accredited HUD-certified housing counseling agency. The nonprofit Clarifi is one of those agencies and has offices in Atlantic, Burlington and Camden Counties.
