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ATLANTIC COUNTY - Home foreclosures remain a reality for those across the country and right here in Atlantic County, where homes hit the auction block Thursday afternoon. The Sheriff's Office has put in place a program to help people keep their homes, at a time when many are being sold back to the bank.
I have a bid for $100, said Atlantic County Undersheriff, Ted Kammer, do I have a second? One by one, homes across Atlantic County hit the auction block Thursday afternoon. Going once, going twice, sold.
We have foreclosed properties in every municipality. As house after house was sold back to the bank during the weekly sheriff sale, it's a trend that's been ongoing, along with many of the homes set to be auctioned, being granted adjournments. We're expecting the flood gates to open up within the next month or so once all documentations are being done, certifications are done through the large financial lenders, said Atlantic County Sheriff, Frank Balles, We probably have a backlog of propertiesabout 2,000 that are in the queue right now.
The Atlantic County Sheriff's Office has a program in place that's designed to help people avoid losing their homes to foreclosure, and it has won national recognition. It's called R.E.AL help, explained Balles, which stands for Reality Experts Aligned to help.
With so many different programs and agencies out there aimed at helping people avoid the foreclosure process, it can be overwhelming figuring out which is the right one, that can provide the most help depending on the situation. That's where R.E.AL Help comes in. We've taken a lot of time here to research the programs, to get rid of the ones that are no good and be able to recommend the ones that are good, explained the Sheriff. He says it's a proactive approach that aims to help everyone who needs it.
Since R.E.AL Help began in 2009, the Sheriff says more than 600 people in the county have contacted his office about it and have been directed to a program fit to help them.
Anyone looking for more information can click on links to learn more.