Mortgage
Foreclosure Project (MFP)
A special, statewide project of Legal Aid of NC
(LANC)
About us...
The goal of LANC's Mortgage Foreclosure Project (MFP) is to keep
working poor and working families in possession of their homes and
their equity.
By providing quality legal representation in foreclosure actions,
the MFP saves homes, preserves credit ratings and strives to
make prohibitive the cost of conducting business for the
unscrupulous brokers and lenders. The MFP also promotes
community education to increase awareness of home finance best
practices and the dangers of predatory lending.
The MFP includes a "team" of attorneys and
staff who are located in Legal Aid of NC (LANC) offices and who specialize in foreclosure defense and predatory lending
law. The MFP team acts on referrals from
LANC
offices and community organizations
throughout North Carolina.
Home Defense Project (HDP)
LANC's MFP team also collaborates with
other legal services organizations
to
save homes and reduce foreclosures in
North Carolina through the Home Defense Project (HDP). The HDP is a collaboration of seven nonprofit organizations:
Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), the NC Justice
Center,
Legal Services of
Southern Piedmont,
Pisgah Legal
Services, the
Land Loss Prevention Project, the
Financial
Protection
Law
Center and the
NC Housing
Coalition. LANC and its legal services
partners on the HDF use their legal skills and resources to seek
reasonable loan modifications and provide high-quality
foreclosure defense work in every county of North Carolina.
In addition, the NC Justice Center (NCJC) and the Financial Protection Law
Center provide litigation
support and analysis on impact cases. The NCJC
also assists with training and the implementation of best practices,
tactics and strategies for individual cases. The
NC Housing Coalition designs and coordinates outreach and education
in support of the project by holding community forums to educate
consumers, link them with legal advocates and engage community
members in articulating policy solutions.
The Home Defense Project (HDP) is funded in part by a grant from the Z. Smith
Reynolds Foundation.
In the News
"Goal is to keep houses occupied"
(January 23, 2010 Winston-Salem Journal article)
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation breathes life into fight against
foreclosure
epidemic
(media release, January 7, 2010)
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in Salisbury on October 27, 2009
5:00-8:00 PM (Flier)
"Help for saving homes"
(September 20, 2009 article, News & Observer)
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop
in New Bern on June 25, 2009,
10:00AM-1:00PM
(flier)
Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in Morganton on April 25, 2009,
10:00AM-1:00PM (flier)
Foreclosure prevention forum and clinic
at
NCCU
School
of Law on
Saturday April 25, 10:00AM-1:00PM
(flier)
"Foreclosures
in NC skyrocketed to record levels"
(article, Asheville Citizen-Times, January 5, 2009)
"Stung
by a middleman, Bad service."
(article, Independent Weekly, March 12, 2008)
Attorneys
volunteer to help low-income families with mortgage
foreclosure defense (media release, March 5, 2008)
"Foreclosure crisis worsens in January"
(News 14 Carolina, March 4, 2008)
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation supports fight against predatory lending
(media release, January 22, 2007)
"Reynolds Foundation grant aims to help Legal Aid
combat abusive
mortgage-lending practices"
(Philanthropy Journal article, March 14, 2006)
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
continues fight against predatory
lending (media release, January 10, 2006)
Publications
"Mortgage
Foreclosure Project" (pdf document)
...A tri-fold brochure that describes LANC's
Mortgage Foreclosure
Project (MFP), a
special, statewide project of Legal Aid of North
Carolina (LANC). The goal of the MFP is to keep working poor
and working families in possession of their home and their
equity.
Consider the following:
è Are you in a worse financial situation
than before refinancing or
taking your second mortgage?
è Were
you promised one mortgage/loan and found out that you
got a different mortgage/loan when you signed the paperwork,
or later?
è Do
you have an unreasonably high payment due at the end of or
during your mortgage/loan’s term?
è Is
your monthly payment or interest rate higher than you thought
it would be?
è Were
there a lot of fees included in your mortgage/loan?
è Did
you have high closing costs when you signed for your
mortgage/loan?
è Did
you complete the paperwork before signing the
mortgage/loan paperwork?
è Did
your lender include information in your mortgage/loan
paperwork that was not truthful?
è Did
you find your mortgage/loan confusing and not have anyone
you could trust to explain it to you?
è Did
you get a second mortgage/loan for home improvements
that were incomplete or done poorly?
è Does
your mortgage/loan include very high insurance payments?
è Are
you going to be fined or charged prepayment penalties
included if you pay off your mortgage/loan early?
è Was
your mortgage/loan refinanced or changed to another
creditor without your knowledge or consent?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions you may have been
the victim of an improper mortgage/loan. If you
are concerned of this please gather your paperwork and call your
local Legal Aid of North Carolina office for assistance.
MFP Team Staff
Johnnie Larrie, Esq., Project Leader, MFP
MFP staff attorneys
LANC staff attorneys (LANC
offices)
[The Mortgage Foreclosure Project includes a "team" of attorneys and
staff who are located in
LANC offices across
North Carolina and who specialize in foreclosure defense and
predatory lending law.]
Hazel M. Mack, Esq., Project Director, Home Defense
Project (HDP)
Contact Information
If you think that you might be at risk of foreclosure...or think
something wasn't right about the closing on the purchase or
refinancing of your home, then you may have been a victim of an
improper mortgage or loan. To discuss your concerns, call your
local Legal Aid of North Carolina office.
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website
are for information and educational purposes only and do not
constitute legal advice.
Also please note that Legal Aid of North Carolina does not
provide legal assistance by E-mail. Contact your Legal Aid of
North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak
to an attorney regarding your particular situation.
See our
complete disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.