Avoid Foreclosure
Dear Florida Homeowner, This website (www.coj.net) is
designed as a resource to help connect you with the
appropriate agencies for assistance. The City of Jacksonville
does not directly provide counseling or legal assistance but
will help put you in touch with someone who can help with
your mortgage situation. If you or someone you know is
having trouble with your mortgage and are worried about
losing your home, DO NOT PANIC as there are options out
there to help you! First, do not sign anything that you do not
understand. Second, help can be available to you and there
maybe a solution to your mortgage situation – your home and
family's financial future are both at stake. A network of
counselors and legal representatives are available to help
homeowners contact their lenders and service providers to
work out solutions. Falling behind on a mortgage or
confronting an interest rate reset does not mean you will lose
your home! For many homeowners, the idea of foreclosure is
so devastating that they ignore the situation and wait until it is
too late to do anything. DO NOT WAIT! Take charge of your
circumstances; look through the information on this web site
to learn of the options you have for saving your home. STAY
HOME JACKSONVILLE! What is Foreclosure? Foreclosure: A
legal process in which the owner of the mortgage attempts to
obtain a judgment requiring the sale of the mortgaged
property to pay the outstanding balance of the loan plus all of
the expenses relating to loan collection. Foreclosure laws are
based on the statutes of each state. What is Counseling?*
Counseling: Counseling can be used strictly for educational
purposes but, sometimes counselors can also help with Loss
Mitigation discussions between you and your lender.
However, a counselor should not be counted upon to provide
legal representation in court proceedings. Credit Counseling:
education focusing on how to improve bad credit and how to
avoid having more debt than can be repaid. Loss Mitigation: a
process to avoid foreclosure; the lender tries to help a
borrower save his or her home who has been unable to make
loan payments and is in danger of defaulting on his or her
loan. Loss mitigation options include loan forbearance,
payment holidays, restructuring of the loan to decrease the
principal and or interest rate, forgiveness of delinquent
amounts and short sales. Mortgage Modification: a loss
mitigation option that allows a borrower and mortgage holder
to agree to change the terms of the loan by reducing the
principal of the loan, reducing the interest rate, forgiving
missed payments, extending the term of the loan or other
options to reduce the monthly payments and/or avoid
foreclosure. Special Forbearance: a loss mitigation option in
which the lender arranges a revised repayment plan for the
borrower that may include a temporary reduction or
suspension of monthly loan payments. What is Legal
Assistance?* Legal Assistance: Legal assistance can provide
any of the services noted above (under counseling), in
addition to representing you in court. Legal assistance is
needed before signing any documents and/or before filing
foreclosure, etc. *As you can see, counseling and legal
assistance can overlap. Legal assistance can include all
services that encompass counseling but, counseling cannot
provide ALL services that are included in legal assistance.
What Counties Can Be Affected By and Included in the
Information Contained Within this Web site? Baker, Clay,
Duval, Nassau, St. Johns Please log onto www.coj.net for
more information - Click on Stay Home - Jacksonville
Foreclosure Prevention