CNYCN Homeowner Testimonials
NHS of Jamaica, Queens
“I lost my job in June 2009 for the first time ever after 20 years of working. My wife was also laid off. We started to fall behind on our mortgage and the bank intimidated us with countless letters. One month, I received 10 letters. I own a 2-family home with my wife and am trying to hold onto it. Luckily, I heard about NHS of Jamaica and I have been working here with my counselor Daniel and have received a forbearance and now we are trying to get another extension. I am looking for a job but they are difficult to find in the food business right now. More people should know about the free services of NHS. I think only 10% of the people around here know how much help you can get."
Hernan Delpino, Ozone Park, Jamaica, Queens, client of NHS of Jamaica
NHS of Jamaica, Queens
“I inherited my house from my mother and I grew up in this house. My husband and I did a lot of renovations to it and needed to take out a second mortgage. But, then I got ill and was not able to work for almost a year and medical bills started to add up. We fell behind on our mortgage and went to our bank several times to ask for a loan modification, but we got no help. My husband went online to search for assistance, but ended up contacting a scammer. This company asked us for $1,000 upfront, which we paid over the phone with a credit card. The representative said that he would be in touch to set up an appointment to help us with our mortgage. He also told us not to pay our mortgage any more, so that it would be easier for them to help us. We stopped paying and fell further behind. But that rep never called again, they just disappeared. We heard from a friend that they had gotten help at NHS of Jamaica and we called them. We visited the center and our counselor is in the process of getting in touch with our lender and we will also get free legal advice.”
Veronica Prescott-Ramos and Steven Ramos of Queens Village, NY, client of NHS of Jamaica
NHS of Jamaica, Queens
“I have owned a two-family home in Queens Village for 18 years. I have fallen behind my mortgage badly and I need advice on how to follow up with my lender with all the documents that are needed. I have received a modification packet but everything takes such a long time. My counselor Cerinelly here is encouraging me to call my bank every two weeks to check on the status. I am hoping that the modification will lower my payments to an affordable level as I only work part-time now because my hours got reduced. My income went from $800 a week to only $200 and I also have a daughter who is in college.”
Sonia Perlaza, Queens Village, Queens, client of NHS of Jamaica
Flatbush Development Corporation & NHS of East Flatbush, Brooklyn
“I have been coming to both centers for about year now. Bad times hit me when I went on disability and my income was severely reduced because of my job loss. I was approached by scammers, who scared me as they would want to set up an account and asked for my social security number. I know people who have been scammed for mortgages and even for their immigration papers in order to get a US citizenship. Originally, I came to receive food stamps and help with my veteran benefits in the HEAP Assistance Program. I got my first trial loan modification from NHS of East Flatbush for my 2-family house, which I have owned for over 30 years with my family. My payments have gone from $2,500 to $1,100, which is a huge help. I have told all my friends and neighbors about the help I am getting. The counselors here take their time and treat people the way I want to be treated.”
CAMBA, Brooklyn
“My wife and I have received help from CAMBA with a lot of different services from my wife’s citizenship to our mortgage. We own a 2-family in Canarsie. I am a yellow cab driver and not making the same money I used because of the economy and the competition from more livery cabs on the roads. My house got a lot of problems and I need to be able to fix the leaking roof and the windows. My counselor is trying to see if I would qualify for the HAMP program to get a loan modification and repayment plan. There is a lot of paperwork needed as I am self-employed.”
Aliadji Ouattara, Canarsie, Brooklyn, client of CAMBA
Chhaya CDC, Queens:
“I have defaulted on my loan and I am facing foreclosure. I applied for a repayment plan twice and have not gotten approved, so that I would make payment on both the interest and principle. I did not understand the terms of the loan that originally was given from my lender – it was a subprime, an interest-only, adjustable hybrid loan. I have owned my one-family house for 4 years. I make sushi packages for supermarkets and business is really down. In addition to not being able to pay my mortgage, I have gotten into credit card debt. I tried to fix that and contacted a company that I heard advertising on the radio. But this was a scam – they took my money but never consolidated my debt. Now, I am in over my head. Chhaya’s counselors are trying to see if I could qualify for the New York’s Neediest Fund for help in my situation.”
Yudis Genero, Elmhurst, Queens, client of Chhaya CDC
Staten Island Legal Services, Staten Island
“I was approved for a loan modification in July when I first appeared in court, but I never received the loan modification packet in the mail. I tried calling the lender several times but got nowhere, and I ended up going back to court in the end of August. After two hours on the phone, we finally reached the right person at the bank. He told the attorney that the lender was backlogged. It is so hard to get information and especially correct information. Thank heavens for Legal Services of Staten Island who helped me with the court proceedings because I can’t afford a private attorney.”
Dolores Galloway, Staten Island, client of Staten Island Legal Services
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| Five Signs You May Have A Bad Mortgage |
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You always struggle to make your monthly payments. |
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You have two or more mortgages or line of credit on one property. |
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The interest rate on your mortgage keeps increasing. |
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Despite regular payments, your principal amount keeps increasing. |
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You are only paying interest. |
| By Chhaya CDC (means shelter), CNYCN Network Partner servicing Queens community. Services available in English, Bangla, Hindi and Urdu. |
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News from Center for NYC Neighborhoods
CNYCN Calls for Immediate Mortgage Relief for Victims of Hurricane Sandy
Immediate Mortgage Relief Required for Victims of Hurricane Sandy
Homeowners who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy urgently require more sustainable mortgage relief. Specifically, mortgage servicers must affirmatively offer homeowners:
- At least 12 months of mortgage relief, with payments either forgiven with a one-time waiver of principal and interest or suspended by forbearance.
- Sustainable repayment structures for homeowners granted forbearance with no requirement for re-amortization, loan modification application process, or subordination of secondary liens that either (a) allow the homeowner to repay through a term extension on the loan (with a prohibition on any interest charged on the forbearance amount), or (b) where term extension is expressly prohibited by any governing security instrument, provide a non-interest-bearing balloon payable at the maturity of the loan.
Homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy who have received forbearance from their servicers should not be required to pay the full amount of deferred principal and interest immediately at the end of the forbearance period or through short-term repayment plans. Such repayment structures are unreasonable and create a situation where a homeowner is likely to fall into mortgage delinquency, and may very well lead to foreclosure. Meaningful mortgage relief – relief that will enable homeowners to return to financial stability and support neighborhood recovery – must prohibit balloon payments at the end of forbearance periods and short-term repayment plans.
The region’s economic recovery hinges on learning from the experience of the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, where forbearance periods did not adequately protect the rights of affected homeowners, and drove many families out of the communities where they had long lived. Mortgage servicers have been offering homeowners impacted by Hurricane Sandy between three and 12 months of forbearance. The minimum period of mortgage relief offered must be 12 months in order to provide a sufficient window of time for homeowners to repair or reconstruct their homes, overcome loss or reduction of employment and/or rental income, replace personal property, and cover the costs of temporary housing.
Without immediate and meaningful mortgage relief, many homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy may face mortgage foreclosure. Legislators across the region should send letters that call for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration (“HUD/FHA”), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), and all mortgage servicers serving the region hit by Hurricane Sandy to immediately provide affected homeowners with at least 12 months of mortgage relief and sustainable repayment structures. HUD/FHA and the FHFA must set the standard by requiring their contracted servicers to offer such terms to all homeowners who can document property damage from Hurricane Sandy with proof that a FEMA or insurance claim has been filed.
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Neighborhood Recovery Fund Closed to Further Applications
The Neighborhood Recovery Fund (NRF), the emergency grant and loan program for victims of Hurricane Sandy, has been exhausted due to overwhelming demand for the available funds. The program has been a tremendous success, helping people in neighborhoods throughout New York City get back on their feet so that they can begin the recovery and rebuilding process.
CNYCN is grateful to Goldman Sachs Give for the grant that made NRF possible, to our Network Partners who worked tirelessly on the applications, and to the community groups that spread the word about the availability of the fund in their neighborhood networks.
Though CNYCN will continue to seek additional funds to make more grants and loans possible, we can no longer accept applications for NRF at this time.
Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City and Goldman Sachs Gives Partner With HPD to Provide $1.4 Million for NYC Homeowners Affected by Hurricane Sandy
MAYOR’S FUND TO ADVANCE NEW YORK CITY AND GOLDMAN SACHS GIVES PARTNER WITH HPD TO PROVIDE $1.4 MILLION FOR NYC HOMEOWNERS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE SANDY
Public-Private Partnership to Provide Housing Counselors, Legal Services and Grants in Partnership with Center for NYC Neighborhoods
December 14, 2012 NEW YORK: Today the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Board of Directors of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods (CNYCN) joined with Goldman Sachs Gives and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to announce $1.4 million in new funding to CNYCN to help homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy. Goldman Sachs Gives contributed $900,000 and the Mayor’s Fund allocated $500,000 to fund an extensive network of housing counselors and legal services providers in the neighborhoods most affected by the storm. CNYCN, in coordination with HPD and the Mayor's Office of Housing Recovery, will give homeowners access to expert help in navigating the complex rebuilding and recovery process. In addition, the funds from Goldman Sachs Gives will allow CNYCN to launch the Neighborhood Recovery Fund (NRF), an emergency grant program that will provide direct financial assistance to homeowners impacted by the storm.
Through its Hurricane Sandy relief activities, CNYCN’s network of housing counselors and legal services professionals will help homeowners secure critical resources and relief from FEMA, insurance providers, and other public and private programs. In addition to providing legal services, counselors will assist homeowners in applying for forbearances and loan modification workouts so that they can maintain their mortgage while repairing their homes and rebuilding their communities. Homeowners seeking assistance with mortgage-related issues can connect to CNYCN by calling 311 or 646-786-0888.
"Since its founding in 2008, the CNYCN has helped thousands of New Yorkers address issues brought on by the housing market crash and economic downturn," said HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua. "I’m thrilled that the City and the Mayor’s Fund will join Goldman Sachs Gives in supporting this proven organization. We have the utmost confidence that these funds will be put to the best use, and that this will happen quickly. Through their large network of partners, they have provided housing and legal counseling, financial workouts with banks, and loans to help people avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The work they do is critically important, especially now with so many homeowners affected by Sandy who need assistance navigating their recovery.”
“This partnership is timely and well-conceived,” said Brad Gair, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery. “After a disaster the magnitude of Sandy, homeowners not only need flexible funding to fill a myriad of needs, but also sound guidance on how to rebuild both their homes and their finances.”
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