Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns joins us to give some helpful advice and to tell us about the Stay in Your Home Campaign.
Mickey Kearns says “This is an issue that impacts people in all of Erie County from some our most affluent areas such as Clarence and Amherst to West Seneca to Tonawanda to of course the City of Buffalo which has the highest numbers of pre-foreclosure notices.”
When people get that notice, where do they start? Erie county clerk, Kearns says first, open up your mail. You have to open your mail and be aware that you have rights as homeowners in New York State.
He says the first thing you do, if you are behind on your loan is please stay in your home, that’s number one, stay there. Mr. Kearns goes onto say, “As the Erie County clerk, I record all of the Erie County registrar transactions and real estate transactions. There is nowhere to go, low inventory, high rent, so you want to stay in your home. In addition to that we partner with the Western New York Law Center, and you can reach out to them at 716-828-8429 and of course, stayinyourhomewny.com.” He says it is absolutely free and there are no income restrictions.
The most important thing Mr. Kearns says is don’t turn away, don’t feel ashamed, you have help and stay in your home. There are a lot of options out there, but the option you don’t want to take is pack up after you received that notification from the bank and leave your home.
For more information go to stayinyourhomewny.com
You can also call the WNY Law Center at 716-828-8429. It is a confidential line.
If you want to read a copy of the report go to Erie.gov/clerk
