Florida nonprofits receive $700,000 to help stop foreclosure

09.05.09
By Lewis Green

With the recession continuing and job losses continuing to mount, many people are trying to stop foreclosure. Now some residents in Florida will get some help in their quest to keep their home from a grant which will fund a legal defense team.

Attorney General Bill McCollum and the Florida Bar Foundation announced the disbursement of the first part of $4 million over the next two years to fund attorneys who will offer free legal advice and assistance to residents who are facing foreclosure.

The $700,000 that was awarded this week is part of a settlement the attorney general reached with Countrywide Financial last year.

Tony Karrat, executive director of the Legal Aid Services of Broward County, said there is a desperate need for help in the area as many residents are facing foreclosure.

"The increasing number of home foreclosures in South Florida indicates that nothing short of a serious, committed effort will rescue our homeowners," he said. "Through this grant, the attorney general is addressing a desperate need with a plan of action, and we are incredibly excited to have been awarded these resources."

Although it was part of the housing boom in more prosperous times, Florida has been one of the states that has struggled the most with foreclosures as the economy has soured. According to recent figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association, Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada accounted for 44 percent of all foreclosures in the second quarter of 2009. That's down from the 46 percent those four states made up during the first quarter.

Meanwhile, TransUnion reported last month that Florida had the second highest mortgage delinquency rate in the country at 12.3 percent. Nevada topped the list with 13.8 percent.

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More Florida residents may get to keep their home thanks to a grant