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Residents apply for program that provides relief on upside down mortgages

By Rikki Klaus
By Rikki Klaus

ATLANTA — Dozens of people who attended a local town hall meeting are applying for relief on their upside-down mortgages.

It's through a new program called Underwater Georgia.

The program's budget is $110 million.

That amount will be disbursed to 3,000 people who, as this flier says, owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.

"Right when the bubble hit, everything burst,” resident Jaqueline Atterberry said.

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Atterberry bought her first home in southwest Atlanta in 2008.

"I thought this was an investment,” Atterberry said.

She says it cost $131,000. Now, eight years later, "It's valued right around $49,000 to $59,000," Atterberry said.

Atterberry owes more on the home than it's worth. She's not alone.

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus met up with real estate broker Angela Neal and asked her why so many Atlantans are underwater.

"I blame the mortgage companies' poor lending practices,” Neal said.

Sen. Vincent Fort hosted a town hall meeting Tuesday night to introduce struggling homeowners to a life raft-- a new federally funded state program called Underwater Georgia.

"Anything that will help me, I'm willing to try to see if I can get some help with it,” Fort said.

Homeowners packed into a room at Lindsay Street Baptist Church in northwest Atlanta and listened, as Fort and Georgia community affairs representatives explained the program.

They even helped homeowners apply.

If selected, the state says the homeowners could receive up to $50,000 to pay off their principal. Atterberry said that would provide a lot of relief.

"Oh, that would really help me a lot," Atterberry said.

There are 3,000 spots in the program, but many more Georgians are expected to apply, so a lottery system is underway.

The advertised last day to apply is in exactly one week.

Cox Media Group

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