Financing Options

How Can States Invest in Reducing Home Foreclosures?

• Connect residents with federal sources of aid.  The federal government has committed $75 billion to help up to 9 million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their debt.   State counseling and mediation programs can ensure residents are aware of these options.  See the federal assistance website .

• Pursue no-cost legal protections.   Protections against predatory mortgage lending require very little new funding because states already have systems in place to monitor and enforce compliance with lending laws. 
  
• Assess the return on investment.  Foreclosures result in a major impact on kids and families, regularly resulting in greater need for publicly-funded benefits (see Why is This Trend Important?),therefore states can identify significant cost savings that may result from up-front investment in foreclosure prevention.