Job loss and reduced income are the top reasons that many U.S. homeowners are facing foreclosure, according to a recent report by NeighborWorks America, which administers the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program. The report finds that 54 percent of U.S. homeowners who received foreclosure counseling through the program were facing foreclosure because of job-related reasons.
The NMFC program was created by Congress to provide counseling to families at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Since the program began on Jan. 1, 2008, the percentage of homeowners who cited lost or reduced income as the main reason they were facing foreclosure rose from 41 percent in October 2008 to 45 percent in February 2009 and 49 percent in June 2009. These figures parallel the nation’s unemployment rate, which also has increased steadily since October 2008.
