There are some great resources to avoid foreclosure now which include the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund, the Hope Hotline, and the VA Compromise Sale program.

So if you are facing foreclosure, there is help.  The first thing to do is realize that this happens to a lot of homeowners and don’t be afraid to ask for help.  These programs are real but some are mortgage product or state specific.  So let’s break down these wonderful free products available to homeowners.

NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund helps NC homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage due to job loss or other temporary financial hardship such as divorce, serious illness or death of a co-signor, or similar that occurred on or after January 1, 2008.

The fund offers a zero interest, deferred loan up to $36,000 to cover mortgage and related expenses for up to 36 months.  The loan can also be used to bring the first mortgage up to date.  You actually don’t have to be behind on your mortgage to get help believe it or not.   This fund is offered through the NC Housing Finance Agency, a self-supporting state agency, and funded through the US Department of the Treasury and best of all, the services are free!  To learn more about this program, call the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund call center at 888-623-8631 or go to www.NCForeclosurePrevention.gov.

Hope Hotline 888-995-HOPE provides foreclosure prevention counseling for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year in over 170 languages!

Their counselors will walk you through options you have such as negotiating a short sale, finding programs available to you, modification programs, or even setting up a budget to handle your bills easier.  It is a free call so it doesn’t hurt to call.  We have heard many success stories of people that have been able to get assistance that were not able to refinance because of credit or other issues.  You can contact them at 888-995-HOPE or go to their website www.995hope.org.

Department of Veteran Affairs offers the Compromise Sale Program to help VA borrowers get out from an underwater mortgage that is giving them a financial strain or hardship.

A little known solution to these sellers is the VA Compromise Sale Program and all stakeholders face a variety of requirements and shared sacrifice.  Since the lender, borrower, and VA all need to agree, there needs to be good communications and documentation by all.  The lender will be agreeing to accept a lower payoff and the VA borrower will have part of their VA entitlement tied up until VA is reimbursed in full.  Hopefully the VA borrower can then use his / her VA bonus entitlement for VA financing again.  To learn more about the specifics of this program for veterans, click here.

Find other articles that can provide relief on our site such as:

1. South Carolina Property Tax Exemption for 100% permanently disabled veterans
2. North Carolina Property Tax Relief for the elderly & disabled
3. When does a refinance make sense?

We sincerely hope that if you are a homeowner and are having a difficult time financially, check into these programs because help is available.  If you are a Realtor, attorney, or others that work with homeowners, share these wonderful programs because it could really help a family so much more than you could know.

Team Move lends in areas such as Wilmington, Leland, Hampstead, Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune, Whiteville, Shallotte, Southport, Elizabethtown, Lumberton, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Fayetteville, Rockingham, Raleigh, Garner, Smithfield, Clayton, Goldsboro, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham, Chapel Hill, Burgaw, Castle Hayne, Holden Beach, Supply, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Hubert, Tabor City, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Laurinburg, Topsail Beach, North Topsail Beach, Surf City, Sneads Ferry, Richlands, Wrightsville Beach, New Bern, Oak Island, Saint James, Wallace, Sanford, Pittsboro, Apex, Cary, Raleigh, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Siler City, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pinehurst, Whispering Pines, Vass, Spring Lake, Fayetteville, Lillington, Hope Mills, Dunn, Angier, Smithfield, as well as the rest of NC.  North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Loris, Little River, Longs, as well as the rest of South Carolina and Virginia.