NCHFA Foreclosure Prevention In NC: How To Get Help
If you searched for the "NCHFA Foreclosure Prevention Fund," you probably heard it once paid money to help North Carolina homeowners catch up on their mortgage. Here is the honest, up-to-date picture: that cash program is closed. So is the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund. What is still available, and still genuinely useful, is free counseling.
This is a plain-English guide to what NCHFA help looks like today, who it is for, and the step-by-step way to get it. None of it costs you anything.
What NCHFA is, and what changed
NCHFA is the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, a state body that supports affordable housing across the state. During the housing crisis and again during the pandemic, NCHFA ran programs that sent money to servicers to help owners reinstate a past-due loan. Those funds, the old Foreclosure Prevention Fund and the later federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, have ended.
What remains is the part that helped many owners the most anyway: free housing counseling and servicer advocacy. A trained counselor reviews your situation, explains every option, and can deal with your mortgage servicer on your behalf. Think of it as expert help, not a check.
What free counseling actually does for you
People are often surprised how much a counselor can do, at no cost:
Review your full situation: income, the past-due balance, the loan terms, and your goal.
Explain the real options, from reinstatement and repayment plans to a loan modification or forbearance.
Help you gather and submit a loss-mitigation application to your servicer.
Advocate with the servicer directly, so you are not navigating the phone tree alone.
Spot foreclosure-rescue scams before you sign anything.
A counselor will not push you to sell, and neither will we if keeping the home is your better move. You can see how we help NC homeowners across every path, including the ones where we are not the answer.
How to get NCHFA and HUD counseling, step by step
Gather your basics. Your mortgage statement, any letters from your servicer, proof of income, and a short summary of what changed (job loss, medical, divorce, a death in the family).
Call NCHFA or a HUD-approved counselor. NCHFA: 1-888-442-8188. To find a HUD-approved counselor near you: consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor or (800) 569-4287.
Have the first conversation. The counselor reviews your numbers and lays out which options fit.
Apply for a workout if that is the path. The counselor helps you submit a loss-mitigation request (modification, repayment plan, or forbearance) and follows up with the servicer.
Decide with the math in front of you. If keeping the home works, you stay. If it does not, you will at least know that for certain, which makes any other decision easier.
There is no fee for any of this. In North Carolina it is actually illegal for a company to charge you an upfront fee for foreclosure-assistance or loan-modification help.
If keeping the home is not realistic
Counseling sometimes leads to a hard but honest conclusion: the numbers do not support keeping the house. If that happens, you still have time-sensitive options before a sale date, including selling for cash to pay off the loan or a take-over-payments arrangement when there is little equity. Those exist to help you avoid a completed foreclosure on your record.
If you reach that point, you can see exactly what happens when you reach out to us: a short call, we run the numbers, and you get a written plan and a firm offer within 48 hours. No pressure, and we will tell you if counseling or a modification still serves you better.
This article is general information for North Carolina homeowners, not legal or financial advice. Every situation is different - talk with a HUD-approved counselor, an attorney, or your lender before you decide.
Get your 48-Hour Options Plan
A free, no-pressure conversation about where you stand - even if the best move isn't selling to us. Within 48 hours of a short call you get a written plan with every realistic option side by side, plus a firm offer that does not change at closing.
Get your 48-Hour Options Plan or call or text 704.529.9294. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Common questions about NCHFA foreclosure help
Does NCHFA still give money to catch up on my mortgage?
No. The old NCHFA Foreclosure Prevention Fund and the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund are closed. NCHFA today offers free counseling and servicer advocacy, not cash.
How much does NCHFA or HUD counseling cost?
Nothing. HUD-approved and NCHFA counseling is free or very low cost. In North Carolina it is illegal to charge an upfront fee for foreclosure-assistance or loan-modification help, so be cautious of anyone who does.
What if counseling says I cannot keep the house?
You still have time-sensitive options before a sale date, including selling for cash to pay off the loan or a take-over-payments arrangement when there is little equity, both of which can help you avoid a completed foreclosure on your record.
