State awards homeowner protection aid

Ten organizations in the Hudson Valley will receive more than $1.7 million to provide free foreclosure prevention services in the first year of the state’s new Homeowner Protection Program, state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced.

Statewide, the program administered by the attorney general’s office will provide $20 million in the first year of a three-year, $60-million initiative to aid New Yorkers fighting to avoid foreclosure on their homes. The funds will come from the state’s multimillion-dollar share from the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement reached last February between the nation’s five largest mortgage servicing banks, 49 states and the federal government over foreclosure abuses.

The Homeowner Protection Program will replace the state’s Foreclosure Prevention Services Program when it expires on Oct. 1. Schneiderman previously applied $15 million from the national mortgage settlement to fund that emergency program for an additional six months beyond its scheduled April 1 expiration.

The attorney general in his announcement cited data collected by the Federal Reserve of New York showing that owners of more than 23,000 homes in the seven-county Hudson Valley region either are delinquent on their mortgage payments for 90 days or more or already have begun the foreclosure process. By that estimate, more than 8.5 percent of all single family mortgages in the region are seriously delinquent.

Agencies awarded funds will use them to help homeowners navigate the lengthy and often complex process of applying for loan modifications and seeking other alternatives to foreclosure. Schneiderman noted that 63 percent of New Yorkers go into settlement conferences without legal representation and many also lack access to housing counselors.

Receiving shares of the $1.7 million allocation are Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Legal Aid Society of Rockland County, Westchester Residential Opportunities Inc., Putnam County Housing Corp., Rockland Housing Action Coalition, Rural Ulster Preservation Co., Hudson River Housing, Housing Action Council, Community Housing Innovations and Human Development Services of Westchester Inc. Award recipients were chosen in a competitive applications process.

Schneiderman in January was appointed by President Obama to co-chair the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, a joint investigative body that brings together the U.S. Justice Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission, several state law enforcement officials and other federal agencies to investigate those responsible for misconduct that contributed to the financial crisis through the pooling and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

“As we continue to investigate the mortgage crisis that has hurt communities in every corner of this state, we must ensure that homeowners get the expert guidance and legal representation they need to protect their rights before it’s too late,” said Schneiderman.