GOVERNOR PENS INTO LAW ASSEMBLY BILL TO CREATE $12.5M FORECLOSURE MEDIATION PROGRAM

GOVERNOR PENS INTO LAW ASSEMBLY BILL TO CREATE $12.5M FORECLOSURE MEDIATION PROGRAM 

Measure Will Also Allocate $51M in Federal Funding For Housing Assistance Services

(TRENTON) - Legislation sponsored by Assembly members Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jerry Green, Ralph R. Caputo, John J. Burzichelli and Joseph Vas to help residents facing foreclosure save their home was signed into law today by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

The bill (A-3459) was crafted amid the recent global economic crisis that has left many New Jersey homeowners facing the nightmare of home foreclosure.  It's among numerous bills passed by the Assembly to combat the global economic meltdown.

"Nothing in the current crisis is as frightening as the specter of thousands of New Jerseyans losing their homes to foreclosures in the midst of winter," said Watson Coleman (D-Mercer).  "We need to provide this lifeline to the countless families who might otherwise find themselves homeless at the worst possible time."

"New Jersey families who are in jeopardy of losing their home now will have resources at their fingertips to legally stop foreclosure proceedings," said Green (D-Union).  "The mediation program will provide counseling services to struggling families to help them renegotiate the terms of their mortgage and keep their home."

The bill would appropriate from the Long-Term Obligation and Capital Expenditure Fund for:

• $500,000 to the Administrative Office of the Courts and $9.5 million to the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) for a foreclosure mediation program.
• $2.5 million to the HMFA for an increase in mortgage counseling services.

"This mortgage mediation program is vital for New Jersey families' in-need because it will ensure they can continue to have a place to call home," said Caputo (D-Essex).  "Unfortunately, too many New Jerseyans have been financially devastated by the troubling economy. This plan will help them pick-up the pieces and begin to move forward."

"We must do everything we can to help keep families in their homes during this tumultuous turn of the global economy," said Burzichelli (D-Salem/Gloucester/Cumberland).  "Working families have been hit hardest by this crisis.  We must ensure that services and programs are working for New Jerseyans who are struggling to keep a roof over their head."

"The downturn of our economy has impacted our everyday lives but we cannot allow it to destroy the fabric of our communities - every family deserves to have a place to call home," said Vas (D-Middlesex).  "This new law will bring counseling, legal and financial expertises to many New Jersey families who need a helping hand, not a hand out."

The bill would also appropriate about $51.4 million in federal funds that the state will be receiving under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The new law takes effect immediately.

-- On the Net:  www.assemblydems.com --