Two Million Homeowners Assisted Through National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program
The Congressionally-funded National Foreclosure Mitigation and Counseling Program (NFMC) has reached a milestone, having assisted more than two million Americans in danger of losing their homes. The program was enacted in December 2007 amid the foreclosure crisis and substantially increased resources available to at-risk homeowners.
Research by the Urban Institute indicates that the program is more effective than most in assisting those in need, with counseled homeowners more than twice as likely to solve their payment delinquencies and keep their homes. The research further showed that homeowners who received a payment modification through the NFMC were able to reduce their annual mortgage payments by an average of nearly $5,000.
“At a time when the foreclosure crisis has moved from the top of the news, it’s important to remember that tens of thousands of homeowners across the United States of all incomes, but especially low-income, continue to need help preventing foreclosure,” said Nicole Harmon, who serves as vice president of the NFMC Program.
More than 1,700 counseling agencies across the country currently participate in the NFMC Program, and they are funded through grants by NeighborWorks America, which also provides training for mortgage counselors.
Anyone needing assistance may visit www.findaforeclosurecounselor.org to find a certified foreclosure counselor in their area.
Image via Flickr/SimonCunningham