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Northern Virginia legal aid office announces foreclosure project

Legal Services of Northern Virginia has launched the Foreclosure Legal Assistance Project (FLAP) to provide legal assistance for those who are facing foreclosure on their homes.

Northern Virginia has experienced some of the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation with Fairfax County’s foreclosures for 2008 already far exceeding the total number of foreclosures for 2007. That follows a jump in 2007 that saw its foreclosures increase by eight times the total number of 2006 foreclosures.

LSNV’s FLAP will provide legal advice and housing counseling to low-income homeowners facing foreclosure. Traditional housing counseling programs typically do not provide legal advice to clients, and legal services organizations generally focus on the legal aspects of foreclosure.

By contrast, LSNV, with 18 Virginia Housing Development Authority-certified housing counselors, as well as more than 30 staff attorneys and paralegals, will offer services that address the full range of a client’s needs, according to James Scruggs, managing attorney of LSNV’s Fairfax office and a certified housing counselor. In addition to assistance with the foreclosure itself, LSNV offers clients services addressing related issues such as public benefits and employment disputes.

“In the past, Northern Virginia homeowners who were facing the threat of foreclosure had to spend time and effort seeking help at a variety of organizations,” Scruggs said. “Now, homeowners can make a single appointment with the Foreclosure Legal Assistance Program to receive all the information they need.”

At the appointments, clients can meet with both an experienced attorney and a housing counselor. The attorney and counselor will review the homeowners’ financial information for legal remedies and propose workout options the lender may accept in order to prevent the loss of the home.

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