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What kind of mortgage assistance can the Banking Division offer?
Also this page:   Other Kinds of Help  I  Related Website Information Links  I How to Contact Us

The Vermont Banking Division can tell you what relief programs, counseling or other options may be available to you, and how to access them. The range of assistance depends upon where you are with your mortgage payments and any foreclosure process.  The Division does not have funding or grant monies to distribute to distressed mortgage holders.  We may be able to help facilitate communications between you and your lender to come to a mutually agreeable course of action.  

The most important thing to know:

If at all possible, do not skip payments and wait to seek help only after your lender initiates a foreclosure action.  This will not result in any better eligibility for assistance.  The EARLIER you take action to avert delinquency, the better your chances to work out a solution to retain your home.         

What other kind of help is available? 

See which “IF” below best describes you.  The associated avenues for help are examples and may not apply to everyone or include all sources of assistance.  Every borrower’s situation carries a unique set of circumstances.       

IF: 
You still are managing to stay current on your mortgage payments and have equity in your home, but fear an upcoming financial crisis because of, for example, an upcoming adjustment in your mortgage rate, a job layoff, divorce, health crisis or other change in circumstances…

You may be able to contact your lender to explore any willingness to negotiate on the terms of your loan. 

You may be able to explore refinancing at other local institutions.

You may be eligible for the New England Mortgage Relief Program, a regional consortium of banks that acts as a clearinghouse for a range of resources, including counseling and  refinancing assistance.  Click on:

www.mortgagerelieffund.com to read about a new mortgage relief fund initiative to make it easier for some New England homeowners who are paying high rates -and who face a reset of an adjustable-rate loan - to refinance into a more affordable mortgage, avoid delinquency, and avoid foreclosure.

IF: 
You are already delinquent on your mortgage payments and facing the threat of imminent foreclosure…

We may counsel you about contacting your lender to explore any willingness to negotiate on the terms of your loan, or a help you through a loss mitigation  process.  Loss mitigation provides alternatives that assist the borrower in making payments and can include a loan modification that amends the terms of the loan to allow the borrower to continue making their payments. We may help you explore refinancing at other local institutions.

Homeowners’s HOPE www.995hope.org may be a resource.

IF: 
You are already IN a foreclosure process with the bank or lender, and been given a timeline in which to make satisfactory steps or lose your property…

Understand that you may still have options, but the “train is running.”  A foreclosure  process takes 6 – 9 months.  A lender may be willing to engage in a negotiation process with a borrower, arriving at a set of conditions/extensions the borrower must earnestly meet which will “stop the foreclosure train” down the tracks.  But once the train starts, it is going to keep running even while you make your effort to meet such conditions.  Then, it’s a matter of whichever happens first:  either you meet the negotiated conditions to the lender’s satisfaction, or the “foreclosure train” reaches the end of its track.   

While this may be a wrenching decision, it is probably best to evaluate whether holding onto the home you currently own is in your best financial interests.  It may only perpetuate a financial burden that may have been too great for you in the first place, and temporary relief will only postpone foreclosure.  

You may still contact the Vermont Banking Division's Mortgage Assistance Program (See contact info below)

Related Website Information/Links

Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams!
See the Federal Trade Commission's FTC warning:  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre42.shtm

Tips to avoid Foreclosure http://www.foreclosurehelpandhope.org/avoid_foreclosure.html