Foreclosure Prevention

Behind on your mortgage? We can help!

For over 15 years, the Rockland Housing Action Coalition, has successfully helped homeowners experiencing financial difficulties become current on their mortgages. Under the supervision of Stephanie Rojas, housing director, RHAC’s dedicated staff developed a foreclosure prevention program with a high success rate. Last year RHAC helped over 500 families navigate the foreclosure maze.

Our foreclosure prevention program is designed specifically for homeowners who are behind, or anticipate becoming behind, on their mortgage payments. Our counselors can help you establish a budget, and determine what strategies are best for your situation to prevent foreclosure. Our certified foreclosure prevention counselors will discuss these strategies and develop a plan to get you back on track with your mortgage payments.

A housing counselor may also be able to intervene on your behalf with your lender in order to come to a resolution that will ultimately bring your loan current. Through this process our counselors can also offer advice and methods to address other financial issues besides your mortgage payments that may be causing your mortgage payment delinquency, such as credit card debt, medical bills, collection accounts, etc.

The foreclosure prevention program is available to all New York residents regardless of income, mortgage type or value of home. All of our services are completely free of charge.

How do I get started?

The first step is to download our intake form by clicking the links below and follow the instructions on the cover page:

RHAC Foreclosure Prevention Intake Form
PDF Reader is available free of charge here

**Please note: If you have a sale date please call the office immediately**

Don’t get scammed!

Scams aren’t always easy to spot – but it helps if you know the warning signs to look for. Here are six red flags to indicate that you may be dealing with a loan modification scammer:

  • A company/person asks for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance or reinstate your mortgage. They may pocket your money and do little or nothing to help you save your home from foreclosure.
  • A company/person guarantees they can stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified. Nobody can make this guarantee to stop foreclosure or modify your loan. Legitimate, trustworthy HUD-approved counseling agencies will only promise they will try their very best to help you.
  • A company/person advises you to stop paying your mortgage company and pay them instead. Despite what a scammer will tell you, you should never send a mortgage payment to anyone other than your mortgage lender. The minute you have trouble making your monthly payment, contact your mortgage lender.
  • A company pressures you to sign over the deed to your home or sign any paperwork that you haven’t had a chance to read, and you don’t fully understand. A legitimate housing counselor would never pressure you to sign a document before you had a chance to read and understand it.
  • A company claims to offer “government-approved” or “official government” loan modifications. They may be scam artists posing as legitimate organizations approved by, or affiliated with, the government. Contact your mortgage lender first. Your lender can tell you whether you qualify for any government programs to prevent foreclosure. And, remember, you do not have to pay to benefit from government-backed loan modification programs.
  • A company/person you don’t know asks you to release personal financial information online or over the phone. You should only give this type of information to companies that you know and trust, like your mortgage lender or a HUD-approved counseling agency.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has made it a priority to stop scammers from preying on New Yorkers.  Please visit www.agscamalert.com to file a complaint and get tips on spotting a scam.

In the meantime, the following informational items are available for download: