Aid To Help Stop Foreclosure
Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods (CNYCN), the city Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and partners announce that more than $347,000 in loans have been made to homeowners in Brooklyn through the Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP).
The program makes loans of up to $25,000 to New York City homeowners at risk of foreclosure so that they may enter into a sustainable and affordable mortgage. To apply for the program, homeowners work with a housing counselor or legal services provider, at no cost, to determine eligibility and work with their lender to negotiate a resolution. To date, more than $1.3 million in MAP loans have assisted homeowners throughout New York City.
This program was created under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s New Housing Marketplace Plan (NHMP). The NHMP is a multi-billion dollar initiative to finance 165,000 units of affordable housing for half a million New Yorkers by the close of Fiscal Year 2014. For every dollar invested by the city, the plan has leveraged $3.41 in private funding for a total commitment of more than $19.4 billion to fund the creation or preservation of over 140,920 units of affordable housing across the five boroughs.
“We are committed to stabilizing neighborhoods, keeping communi- ties intact, and most important, doing all we can to help families live in homes they can afford. Being able to provide financial assistance to mortgage holders who are having trouble with unaffordable loans assistance so that they may hold on to their homes,” said Wambua. “The Mortgage Assistance Program has given families the extra support and security they need to avoid foreclosure. I want to thank The Center for New York City Neighborhoods, HPD staff and partners who work hard to give families at risk of foreclosure a helping hand.”
“For many New York families facing foreclosure, this MAP loan is a great boost and we hope more will take advantage of the opportunity,” said DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz. “We’re also happy to connect these families to the free, one-onone, professional counseling services of the city’s Financial Empowerment Center network to assist with their consumer debt and other personal financial challenges. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers have already worked to reduce millions of dollars in debt and build hundreds of thousands of savings by working with our free counselors.”
“MAP is an invaluable resource in the fight to prevent foreclosures in our communities,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “The loans provided by HPD have helped dozens of homeowners enter into sustainable mortgages and stay in their homes and I thank HPD Commissioner Wambua, Christie Peale, Herb Sturz and CNYCN for their hard work.”
To date, 63 families in New York City have received funding through MAP to maintain ownership of their homes, 16 of which are in Brooklyn. MAP currently has 36 approved applications totaling an estimated additional $652,000 in loans to be made once workouts are obtained from the mortgage servicers.
On average, assistance from MAP has reduced homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments from 44 percent to 32 percent, as a percentage of gross monthly income. MAP has also been able to help homeowners with principal reduction, right-sizing mortgages that no longer reflect home values, and it has done so at a discount.
For every $1 spent to pay-off a second mortgage, MAP has achieved an average of $3.72 in principal reduction for borrowers. Most importantly, MAP has provided a critical tool for some of the most difficult and intractable cases handled by New York City’s dedicated housing counseling and legal services professionals. Without the assistance of MAP, many New York City families and individuals may have had no other options to avoid foreclosure and save their homes.
Homeowners in the program work with a housing counselor or legal services provider, at no cost, to determine if MAP is the appropriate solution and, if so, how much financial assistance is needed to avoid foreclosure. In Brooklyn, many MAP applicants have worked with DC 37 Municipal Employees Legal Services to assess their level of need and apply to the program.
Housing counselors and legal services providers submit applications on behalf of their clients to CNYCN, the MAP administrator. The program is funded through the HPD, various partner organizations, as well as through private donations, including a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation is represented on the MAP Credit Committee by Howard Banker, Executive Director of the Fair Mortgage Collaborative.
The MAP staff at CNYCN frequently refers homeowners to financial counselors at the NYC Financial Empowerment Centers for assistance with non-housing debt, budgeting and savings that impact clients’ ability to pay their mortgages. The DCA Office of Financial Empowerment established a network of Financial Empowerment Centers to provide free, professional, one-on-one financial counseling to help clients take control of their debt, negotiate with creditors, improve their credit, create budgets, access safe and affordable financial products, and build a stronger foundation of financial stability.
New Yorkers can visit nyc.gov/ProtectYourMoney for more information or call 311 to make an appointment at a Financial Empowerment Center.
To be eligible for MAP, the homeowner’s household income cannot exceed 165 percent of the Area Median Income (approximately $130,000 per year for a family of four) and the home must be their primary residence. One to four family homes and condominium units are eligible for assistance. The program does not currently accept applications for co-ops. A housing counselor or legal services provider must conduct an assessment of the borrower’s financial circumstances to determine eligibility for the MAP funds based on HPD approved underwriting criteria.
For more information on the program and requirements, visit www.cnycn.org/map, call 311 or CNYCN directly at 1-646-786-0888 today and ask about the Mortgage Assistance Program.
