Community Corner
State Provides Foreclosure Relief For Sandy-Battered Homeowners
Gov. Christie reluctantly signs new bill.
Sandy-affected homeowners in the state's Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation Program worried about foreclosure have gotten a reprieve from a reluctant Gov. Chris Christie, according to a report in app.com.
The bill allows homeowners who are in the RREM program and RREM's other program for low- and moderate-income homeowners to petition the state Department of Community Affairs for a delay from foreclosure actions through June 30, 2019.
Christie has called the bill "a transparent, useless political exercise by candidates for re-election falsely pandering to victimized voters."
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"I have chosen to sign it to give Sandy victims the morsels of relief this vanity exercise of a bill offers," he wrote. "I will use my executive authority to attempt to repair the mountains of damage this could cause to our federal funding flow and our state housing market."
Homeowners must provide proof that their inability to pay their mortgage is related to damage done by superstorm Sandy.
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If no foreclosure process has been filed by the mortgage company, a homeowner must apply for a forbearance -- to prevent foreclosure -- before the first day of the third month after DCA makes application forms available, according to a tip sheet on the new law prepared by Sandy advocacy group New Jersey Organizing Project.
The application forms are expected to be available sometime this month.
"DCA is currently working on an online application process," agency spokeswoman Lisa Ryan told app.com.said. "We will provide the application and notifications about the application as required by the statute."
The new law directs the Community Affairs commissioner to notify Sandy families of their eligibility for those foreclosure protections and to post eligibility information on the department's website.
The commissioner also must notify courts and mortgage lenders of people who are eligible for those protections.
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Image: Patricia A. Miller
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