How do you know if you have been a victim of predatory lending?
If you are a New Jersey homeowner, ask yourself the following questions about your mortgage:
- Were the mortgage advertisements false or misleading?
- Were you charged high closing costs and fees?
- Did the lender fail to make accurate disclosures of the loan amount, finance charges, and annual percentage rate in time for you to make a careful decision about closing?
- At the time the loan was made, were you worried that you could not afford the mortgage payments?
- Was the loan refinanced one or more times in a short period
of time?
- Did you receive unfavorable loan terms when you may have been eligible for better terms?
- Does your mortgage have a large final payment (a “balloon” payment)?
- Did you pay a broker’s fee without having a broker?
- Did you pay for single premium disability, credit, or life insurance?
- Will you be charged a fee (prepayment penalty) if you pay off the loan early?
- Does your mortgage have an excessively high interest rate?
- Will the interest rate on your mortgage go up if you default on the loan?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have been a victim of predatory lending, and the Anti-Preditory Lending Project may be able to help you.
What is the Anti-Predatory Lending Project?
The Anti-Predatory Lending Project (APLP) gives free legal help to low-income homeowners who are victims of predatory mortgage lending. While predatory lending covers a wide variety of abusive lending practices on any type of loan, the APLP concentrates on predatory lending that targets homeowners and increases the risk of foreclosure or the loss of equity in their homes. The APLP is dedicated to saving homes from foreclosure, protecting home equity, and ending predatory lending.
The APLP offers:
Foreclosure defense:
We represent low-income homeowners facing foreclosure as a result of a predatory loan.
Affirmative legal representation, brief services, counsel, and advice:
We assist low-income homeowners who think they may have been victimized by predatory lending.
Community outreach and education:
We present seminars and provide educational materials to homeowners, organizations, and community leaders seeking more information on the problem of predatory lending.
Policy advocacy:
We promote the development of laws seeking an end to predatory lending.
Who is eligible for APLP assistance?
Low-income New Jersey homeowners who meet income eligibility requirements and APLP program guidelines are eligible for assistance. If you are a homeowner and you believe that you may be a victim of predatory lending, contact LSNJ-LAW™ to be screened for eligibility. To speed up the intake and investigation process, have your loan documents, current mortgage statements, foreclosure complaint (if any), and correspondence with you when you call.
How do I contact the APLP?
Call LSNJ's toll-free, statewide, legal hotline and ask for an APLP attorney at
1-888-576-5529
About LSNJ
Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) coordinates the statewide network of nonprofit Legal Services programs which provide free legal assistance in civil cases to low-income New Jersey residents who cannot afford lawyers. If you have a legal problem and think that your income may qualify you to become a Legal Services client, please call LSNJ-LAW™, New Jersey’s Legal Hotline at
1-888-LSNJ-LAW
(1-888-576-5529)
Office hours
Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
