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Maryland Steps Up Efforts to Deal with Foreclosed Homes

July 27, 2009

Another initiative was launched by Maryland officials led by Governor Martin O’Malley to step up efforts to prevent and mitigate foreclosed homes.

State officials launched a television campaign aimed at intensifying the state information drive about the availability of free foreclosure counseling services offered by the state. Through the television spots, several officials of the state Department of Housing and Community Development and housing counselors speak and encourage troubled homeowners to seek help from state services aimed at containing foreclosed homes.

In a recent report on foreclosure filings and foreclosed homes nationwide for the first 6 months of 2009, Maryland had about 18,112 foreclosure notices filed, an increase from the 17,625 filings in the first 6 months of 2008. One household out of every 128 housing units in Maryland was hit with a default and foreclosure action in the first half of 2009.

According to Maryland officials, despite the 2.8 percent increase in foreclosure filings in the first 6 months despite various state initiatives to contain foreclosed homes, they are still hopeful that the combination of state and federal programs will help more families keep their homes.

Based on data from the Home Ownership Preserving Equity program of Maryland, over 6,800 distressed homeowners have saved their homes from foreclosure through the help of the state HOPE program. Additionally, almost 23,000 consumers were given assistance in the resolution of their financial difficulties.

The state HOPE program was launched in November 2008 after Governor O’Malley and other state officials obtained commitments from six mortgage servicing firms to develop and implement a loss mitigation scheme that would help troubled Maryland homeowners keep their homes after missing months of payments.

Aside from providing free counseling programs and free legal assistance to distressed homeowners, the DHCD also runs other foreclosure prevention initiatives that provide loans to homeowners to help them keep their homes. Since the launching of these programs, the state of Maryland has provided a total of 152 assistance loans worth $27.7 million.

The other statewide foreclosure mitigation program of the state, which is funded under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been launched with an initial funding of over $46 million.

Under this NSP-funded program, Maryland housing officials will acquire foreclosed homes in foreclosure-battered areas, rehabilitate them and then sell them to low income families at low interest rates. Aside from containing foreclosed homes, this program will also solve affordable housing problems across the state.

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