Press Contact Only:
Margaret Matrone, NCHFA, 919-877-5606,
Connie Helmlinger, NCHFA, 919-877-5607,
The North Carolina Home Protection Pilot Program and Loan Fund was created by the General Assembly in 2004 with an appropriation of $1.75 million. The purpose, according to Sen. Walter Dalton, who sponsored the legislation, “is to test ways to help North Carolinians who have lost their jobs to avoid foreclosure.” The effort was inspired by the large number of North Carolinians who have lost jobs because of recent plant closings.
The pilot program is designed and operated by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. It will be available through local housing counseling agencies in eight counties, where it is expected to finance a total of 150 loans to prevent foreclosure.
The counties and agencies are:
- Cabarrus—Prosperity Unlimited, Inc. (704-933-7405)
- Cleveland —Cleveland County Community Development Corp (704-480-7701)
- Cumberland —Kingdom Community Development Corp (910-484-2722)
- Edgecombe—Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corp. (252-442-5178)
- Forsyth—Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Forsyth County (336-896-1191)
- Guilford —Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Greensboro (336-373-8882)
- Rowan—Salisbury Community Development Corp (704-638-4474)
- Rutherford —Consumer Credit Counseling of Carolina Foothills (828-286-7062)
The counties for the pilot program were selected based on criteria including: their rate of foreclosures; the unemployment rate; the existence of local agencies to provide the services, and geographic diversity. A loan pool will be available for each of the eight counties.
To be eligible for assistance, homeowners must have lost their jobs through no fault of their own; be eligible for unemployment assistance through the N.C. Employment Security Commission; and have had a stable employment and credit history prior to losing their job. Homeowners in need of assistance can apply through the eight local housing counseling organizations above.
The pilot program can provide either a lump sum loan amount to help homeowners resolve their mortgage delinquency, or on-going assistance for a maximum of 18 months, during which the owner is expected to contribute toward their mortgage payment. The maximum loan amount is $20,000, to be repaid on a sliding scale after the term of assistance ends.
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting state agency. It has financed $8 billion of affordable housing, including low-cost mortgages for 65,000 North Carolinians buying their first home.
# # #
