OnTrack WNC’s Foreclosure Prevention Loan Fund reaches $11 million milestone

Here’s the press release from OnTrack WNC:

OnTrack WNC’s Foreclosure Prevention Loan Fund Reaches
$11 Million Milestone Assisting Homeowners in Western NC

As of August 1st, OnTrack Financial Education & Counseling’s Foreclosure Prevention Loan Fund program’s mortgage assistance to homeowners in the organization’s 18-county service region totaled$11,165,955. In Western NC alone, the statewide program has enabled 560 families to keep their homes since it began on December 1, 2010. Program Director Tom Luzon notes that the OnTrack WNC program has “one of the highest approval rates in the state.”
Aiding those who are struggling to keep up with their mortgages because of job loss or temporary hardships, the NC Foreclosure Prevention Loan Program helps homeowners by making mortgage payments while they search for a job or retrain for a new, more viable career. Others, who have gotten behind on their payments because of divorce, illness or other temporary hardship through no fault of their own, may qualify for help.

One client recently stated: “OnTrack WNC helped us prepare in advance of the layoff so that we were able to survive it financially. Without their help in the first stages, we do not think we would have avoided foreclosure.”

The assistance is an interest-free loan through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) for up to 36 months or $36,000, whichever is less. The loan has no payment requirements and 20% of the balance is forgiven each year beginning in the sixth year. If the owner continues to live in the home for 10 years, the loan will be considered satisfied and no repayment will be due.

OnTrack WNC offers the Fund in partnership with the N.C. Housing Finance Agency using funds from the U.S. Treasury’s “Hardest Hit Fund.” OnTrack Financial Education & Counseling is the regional agency administering the program for WNC.

OnTrack WNC is an integral piece of the recovery puzzle helping many Western North Carolinians overcome crisis and find stability through the N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Loan program.

To be eligible, homeowners must have a good mortgage payment history prior to the job loss or hardship, have potential to resume their mortgage payments once the assistance ends, intend to return to work, and meet other program guidelines.

For more information about eligibility and preregistration, homeowners should call OnTrack WNC at 828-255-5166 or 1-800-737-5485. Homeowners can also visit the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund website at www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov.

OnTrack Financial Education & Counseling, formerly Consumer Credit Counseling Service of WNC, is WNC’ non-profit agency dedicated to helping people manage their money and credit better. Since 1973 OnTrack WNC has been providing professional, confidential money management counseling, education programs and debt repayment plans. For additional information, or to schedule an appointment, call OnTrack WNC at 255-5166 x3 or toll free 1-800-737-5485 or www.ontrackwnc.org.

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting public agency. It has financed 196,000 homes and apartments in the last three decades, including 81,000 for first-time homebuyers. For more information, visit www.nchfa.com.