CCCS of Raleigh

Financial Teen Talk Tour at the Durham County Library

2010-09-20T13:24:00.003-04:00

The Durham County Library and Triangle Family Services are co-hosting a free financial literacy workshop for teens and parents of teens.

What:
Covers the financial basics: saving, budgeting, pay stubs, buying a car, loans and credit. Covers all the topics that affect adults, but explained in a way that makes it easier for teens and parents of teens to understand. Also includes an interactive game that teaches the basics of owning and paying for an automobile.

When:
Tuesday September 28, 2010
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM South Regional Branch

Thursday September 30, 2010
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM Southwest Regional Branch

Where:
Sept. 28:
Durham County Library South Regional Branch.
4505 S. Alston Avenue, Durham NC 27713
Tel: 919-560-7409.

Sept 30:
Durham County Library Southwest Regional Branch.
3605 Shannon Road, Durham NC 27707
Tel: 919-560-8590.

Registration/Fees:
Registration not required. The session is FREE.

Contact:
For more information, contact Bill Nesmith (Durham County Library) at 919-560-0125 or
Joe Paradise (Triangle Family Services) jparadise@tfsnc.org at 919-821-0790 x309

About Us:
Durham County Library is hosting a set of workshops as part of a two-year investor education program created to help parents prepare for their children’s college expenses. “Invest 4 College: An Essential Toolkit for Planning” includes workshops, online resources and an expanded collection of printed investment materials. The program is funded by a $100,000 grant to the Durham Library Foundation, from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation through Smart investing@your library®, a partnership with the American Library Association.

Triangle Family Services is a private United Way non-profit agency. We have served the physical, emotional, and financial needs of the greater Raleigh community since 1937. Our programs focus on family safety, financial security, and mental health. Our Consumer Credit Counseling Service is accredited, with agency and counselor certification from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Our agency is HUD-approved for homebuyers and homeowners, with counselors certified by The Association of Housing Counselors.

Education/Workshops

2009-05-25T23:46:00.000-04:00

CCCS of Raleigh is committed to providing a wide array of financial literacy programs to the community. We offer public workshops at our Raleigh and Durham locations, and also present invited workshops, where we can deliver the same rich content on-site at your church, civic group, school, or corporation.

For more details, contact Jill at (919) 821-1770 or send an e-mail with your questions.

Public workshops for June/July 2009

First Time Homebuyer Workshop
Saturday, July 18, 9:30-4:00 PM
Church of the Good Shepherd, 125 Hillsborough St., Raleigh
Free, includes lunch
Essential info for buying a home, with a full day of presentations from our counselors, a mortgage lender, a realtor, and a home inspector. Certificate issued.

Investing Basics
Tuesday, June 23, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
CCCS of Raleigh, 700 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh
Wednesday, June 17, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
CCCS of Durham, 201 W. Main St. Suite 202G, Durham
Free
Learn the basics of cash, CDs, stocks, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds for investing in your 401k or taxable account.

Financial Teen Talk
Tuesday, July 28, 6:30 - 8:00 PM (Parents and teens)
CCCS of Raleigh, 700 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh
Wednesday, July 15, 6:00 - 7:30 PM (Parents only)
CCCS of Durham, 201 W. Main St. Suite 202G, Durham
Free
Classes for parents and teens. Covers the bascis: saving, budgeting, pay stubs, buying a car, loans and credit.

Bankruptcy Education
Tuesday, June 9, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Tuesday, July 14, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
CCCS of Raleigh, 700 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh
Certificate issued for $20 fee
This is the required post-filing instructional course for Chapter 7 filers. Budgeting and credit issues with an orientation to those emerging from bankruptcy.

See the latest newsletter for a list of all 2009 workshops.

You can register in one of two ways:
Send us an e-mail with your name, address, daytime telephone number, and the class for which you are registering.
Call Jill at (919) 821-1770 to reserve your spot. Leave a voice mail if you get a recording.

We've Moved

2009-05-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

To serve you better, the CCCS division of Triangle Family Services has moved to a new location:

Triangle Family Services
700 Blue Ridge Road Suite 101
Raleigh, NC 27606

Our new building is just south of the NC State Fairgrounds (at Blue Ridge Rd and Hillsborough St). If approaching from the north on Blue Ridge, cross the railroad tracks, proceed past the Beryl Rd traffic light, pass another traffic light, and our facility will be just past Pylon Dr on the left side of the road and before Hutton St. You've past it if you went as far as the $1.50 movie theater.

If you're coming from the west, take I-40, and use the I-40 Wade Ave extension. Take the Blue Ridge Rd exit and turn right onto Blue Ridge. Proceed south on Blue Ridge past Hillsborough St to our location.

If you're using the I-440 Beltline, get off at the Hillsborough St exit and turn right. Proceed to the next light at Blue Ridge Rd and turn left. Proceed south on Blue Ridge to our location.

As an extra bonus, there is plenty of free parking at our new facility!

Foreclosure Help for Homeowners

2008-10-18T20:53:00.000-04:00

By now, everyone has heard about the $700 billion bailout for banks and other institutions that have gotten into trouble with bad mortgage debt. But what is being done directly for the homeowner? Here are three programs that can help North Carolina residents facing possible foreclosure:

HOPE for Homeowners Program
This federal program went into effect October 1, 2008. It offers a way to help homeowners convert subprime high interest loans into FHA fixed 30 year mortgages. But it comes with lots of qualifications, including:
- Loan must have originated before January 1, 2008
- Mortgage payment must exceed 31% of homeowner gross monthly income
- Lender must agree to reduce upside down loans to 90% of home value
- Second lender (who may get nothing) must also agree to terms
- Homeowner must share future house profits with FHA
Go to this nolo.com website for many more details. While many lenders may refuse to write down loans if they can lose a significant amount of money, in some cases it is preferable to the losses that come from foreclosure. Speak to your lender to see if a workout is available.

State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project
This North Carolina state law goes into effect November 1, 2008. It can help homeowners with subprime loans originated between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007. It requires your mortgage servicer to notify you and the Commissioner of Banks 45 days before starting the foreclosure process. The Commissioner's office has the authority to require a 30 day extension to the foreclosure to enable a workout between the lender and homeowner, and has a staff available to review the loan for predatory characteristics.

State Home Protection Program
This program, financed through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, recently received $3 million of funding to expand its loan program to all 100 counties in North Carolina. It can help those who have been laid off avoid foreclosure with a 15 year deferred 0% interest loan to catch up on delinquent payments and make future payments until the homeowner is employed in a new job. See this blog article for more details.

Triangle Family Services is HUD-approved and is on the list of agencies certified to help with each of these programs. Make an appointment at 919-821-1770 to speak to a certified housing counselor about all options available to homeowners in trouble.

Unemployed or Facing Job Loss?

2008-10-02T16:18:00.006-04:00

In this difficult economic environment, you may be a victim of a plant closing or cutbacks in hours or number of workers. Our agency may be able to help you in several ways:

Budget Counseling
We can help you prepare a budget that can fit your reduced income, and point out the least painful ways to save money or modify your lifestyle. It's important to make those changes now, before you drain your dwindling savings reserve.

Credit Counseling
We can help you manage your credit card bills with a Debt Management Plan, explain how your credit will be affected by missed payments, and outline a strategy for minimizing that credit damage and repairing it when your former income is restored.

Housing Counseling
If your mortgage payment is in jeopardy due to your job loss, we can help you work with your lender in qualifying for programs that they may have. We can walk you through the creation of a hardship letter, preparation of supporting documents, and examine your closing documents for hints of predatory lending practices.

Federal and State Mortgage Relief Programs
We can review your situation and tell you if you can qualify for any of the variety of rescue programs that have been enacted through legislation. Our agency administers one specific program, through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, that provides deferred bridge loans to allow the unemployed to become current on their mortgage.

Workshops and Education
We offer a variety of public classes that deal with budget, credit, and other financial issues. If your workplace offers outplacement services, alert your HR department, and they can arrange to have us come out to your location for a seminar or private counseling sessions.

Community Referrals
While going through this difficult time, we can refer you to services at JobLink, networking groups in the community, and sources of financial assistance for cases of extreme hardship.

Bankruptcy Counseling
If you believe your financial situation is beyond help through regular counseling, we can discuss the suitability of bankruptcy and the negative effects on your credit and financial life. For a small fee, we do offer the counseling certificate required for a bankruptcy filing, and we are "approved to issue certificates in compliance with the Bankruptcy Code. Approval does not endorse or assure the quality of an Agency's services."

Don't hesitate! Our counseling services are free. Contact us today to make an appointment. Call 821-1770 or send an e-mail with your name, address, daytime telephone number, and desired times for appointments.

New Foreclosure Prevention Program

2008-09-18T17:07:00.023-04:00

With funding from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, Triangle Family Services is now administering a new program to help workers experiencing a job loss save their home from foreclosure.

If you:

Live or work in Wake, Johnston, Durham, Orange, or Chatham County
Have lost your job or may lose it due to changing economic conditions
Had made your mortgage payments on time while working
Are now delinquent on your mortgage or are in danger of becoming delinquent

You may be eligible for:

Up to $24,000 in loan assistance
Loan is deferred for 15 years and has no interest
Loan can be used to bring mortgage current
Loan can be used to make payments for up to 9 months while looking for work
Loan can be used to make payments for up to 18 months while in school or in a retraining program
You must meet eligibility requirements to submit an application
While waiting for application approval, lender cannot foreclose on your home

If you believe you are eligible for this program and could benefit from it, give us a call at (919) 821-1770 or (800) 283-6904. We'll schedule you to see a housing counselor who will review your entire situation and look for ways to get you back on firm financial footing. If you meet the screening criteria, you'll be referred to an agency loan officer who will help you complete the application process.

Additional Services

2008-09-17T20:00:00.001-04:00

If you have a money-related problem, we can probably help. Here a few more examples of services that we provide.

Saving and Investing Basics
While we are not financial planners, we can help you find the best and safest places for your savings, explain the benefits of retirement savings, and help you decide how to apply a lump sum windfall to meet current or future obligations. We also offer an Investing Basics workshop that covers cash, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, and other forms of investments.

Bankruptcy Counseling
Triangle Family Services is approved in all three districts of North Carolina to provide both individual credit counseling briefings and personal financial management instructional courses to fulfill the certification requirements under the new U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The counseling and classes are free; a fee is charged for the required certificate. Click here to view an information brochure. Click here for a schedule of bankruptcy education classes. For pre-bankruptcy filers, we are “Approved to issue certificates in compliance with the Bankruptcy Code. Approval does not endorse or assure the quality of an Agency’s services.” For post-bankruptcy filers, we are “Approved to issue certificates evidencing completions of a personal financial management instructional course in compliance with the Bankruptcy Code. Approval does not endorse or assure the quality of a Provider’s services.”

Community Referrals
During a counseling session, we may be able to refer clients to other services available in the community. These can be legal referrals, resources for medical and prescription help, issuing food vouchers for local food pantry churches, or how to file a complaint about a product, service, or organization that fails to meet consumer protection standards.

Housing Counseling

2008-09-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Our agency is HUD-approved, with counselors certified by The Association of Housing Counselors and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency to provide a variety of housing counseling services.

Pre-Purchase Counseling
We counsel first-time homebuyers and those looking to purchase a home now or in the future. We help them craft a budget that makes homeownership affordable. We review their credit and explain how to improve their credit score and repair delinquent credit entires. We also conduct full day first time homebuyers workshops - click for details.

Mortgage Delinquency Counseling
We help homeowners who are struggling to make ends meet and who are behind on their mortgage payments. We look for solutions that may improve their siuation, including managing their expenses and debt and helping them work with thier lender in getting their mortgage current.

Foreclosure Prevention Counseling
For homeowners three or more months delinquent and facing foreclosure, we can review options that may still be available to help them save their home. These options include explaining the loss mitigation alternatives that the lender may have offered, getting detailed loan balance information and complete loan payment history from the lender, preparing a hardship letter and support documentation to justify a loan workout, and getting involved when necessary in helping to negotiate a workout plan that is affordable to the client and acceptable to the lender.

Foreclosure Prevention Programs
We can review with the client all programs made available through Federal and State legislation that can help them renegotiate or refinance their loan. These programs are especially suitable for clients with subprime high interest loans with payments that reset periodically to higher rates.

Help for the Unemployed Homeowner
Ourt agency administers a special program financed and underwritten by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency that is directed to unemployed homeowners in danger of foreclosure. This program can help those who have lost wages due to changing economic conditions or those facing an anticipated layoff. The assistance comes in the form of a 15 year deferred zero interest balloon loan. This funding can bring a mortgage current and make mortgage payments for a limited time while the client is looking for work or enrolled in school to retrain for a new career path. Click here for more details.

Reverse Mortgage Counseling
For seniors (age 62 or higher), we offer the counseling and certificate required to obtain a reverse mortgage loan. These loans are taking out against the equity in the home, and require no payments as long as the homeowner is able to remain in the house. The money can be used to pay off all existing mortgages, to make needed repairs on the house, to supplement monthly income, or to be used as a reserve for future needs of any kind. See this AARP site for lots more details.

Budget and Credit Services

2008-09-17T15:31:00.003-04:00

Our certified staff counselors can help you manage your finances in a variety of ways.

Budget Counseling
If you've never created a budget before, we can help you prepare one to fit your income and lifestyle needs. If you already have a working budget, we may be able to point out ways to save money on your bills and ordinary expenses by becoming value conscious.

Credit Counseling
We can help you manage those credit card bills with a Debt Management Plan or other approach that can reduce interest rates and monthly payments. We can review your entire income, expense, and debt situation and help you find a solution that will create a balanced budget with manageable debt.

Credit Report Review and Repair
We can review your credit report or pull one from a major credit bureau and explain the content. For delinquent items, we can help your prioritize repayment of those debts to optimize your credit score or to help you qualify for a new loan. To get started, you can obtain your own credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com.

Financial Literacy
To reinforce the individual counseling sessions, we encourage clients to participate in our ongoing series of workshops for the community. Click for the latest schedule.

Who We Are / Contact Us

2008-09-01T12:00:00.010-04:00

Description

CCCS of Raleigh is a division of Triangle Family Services, which is a private United Way non-profit agency. The agency has served the financial security, family safety, and mental health needs of greater Raleigh since 1937.

Our CCCS of Raleigh and CCCS of Durham locations can help you with nearly any financial concerns, regardless of income or job status. We can address budget and credit issues, educate the first-time homebuyer, deal with mortgage delinquency problems, answer reverse mortgage questions, and help you make decisions related to bankruptcy.

Certifications

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) certifies our Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and our financial counselors.

Triangle Family Services is HUD-approved for homebuyers and homeowners.

Our housing counselors are certified by The Association of Housing Counselors (TAHC).

Triangle Family Services is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), which partners with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes.

Locations

Raleigh office: 700 Blue Ridge Rd., Suite 101, Raleigh, NC 27606
Our main office is located on Blue Ridge Rd. between Pylon Dr and Hutton St, just south of the NC State Fairgrounds. If approaching from the north on Blue Ridge, proceed past the railroad tracks, two traffic lights, and Pylon Rd. It will be on the left side of the road, just before the $1.50 movie theater (you’ll spot a Tradesman sign in our building complex, and see a brick wall at the Hutton St. corner, with a sign on the wall - Pylon Commercial Park). If coming from the west, take I-40, and use the I-40 Wade Ave extension. Take the Blue Ridge Rd. exit and turn right onto Blue Ridge. Proceed south on Blue Ridge past Hillsborough St. to our location. If using the I-440 Beltline, get off at the Hillsborough St. exit and turn right. Proceed to the next light at Blue Ridge Rd. and turn left. Proceed south on Blue Ridge to our location.in downtown Raleigh, 4 blocks west of the State Capitol building, at the corner of Hillsborough and Harrington St. Limited parking is available in our Harrington St. lot; additional one hour and two hour parking is available on adjacent streets.

Durham office: 201 West Main St., Suite 202G, Durham, NC 27701
Our Durham office is in downtown Durham, adjacent to the Corcoran St. parking garage, where pay parking is available.

Contact Us

For appointments or to register for classes for either location, call Jill at (919) 821-1770 (leave a voice mail if you get a recording) or send an e-mail with your name, address, and daytime telephone number. Please provide details about the type of counseling or class of interest, and indicate desired times for appointments.

Other Links

Questions About Our Funding
Meeting Face-to-Face
Don't Wait Too Long to See Us

Questions About Our Funding

2008-08-22T13:45:00.004-04:00

We get a lot of inquiries at the Agency about where our money comes from to run our operations. Here’s a list of the most frequently asked questions:

Are you County?
No. Triangle Family Services is a private, non-profit agency. We are not a part of any government branch, although we do receive grant money from different levels of government to fund some of the services we offer.

Are you a division of United Way?
No. Triangle United Way is a fund-raising operation that is a partial source of funding to our agency and to nearly 40 other non-profits in Wake County alone.

Are all your counselors volunteers?
No. We do have some volunteers that help our operation. But in order to attract qualified professionals who can serve our clients on a full-time and consistent basis, all our CCCS counselors are compensated for their work.

If you are private, do you charge for your services?
No. All of our counseling services are free of charge. We do charge for issuing bankruptcy certificates and for setting up and maintaining debt management plans for clients who choose to enroll.

How do you keep the doors open if your services are free?
We rely on public and private grants and donations. As noted previously, we do get some of our funding from United Way and from government grants. We also get funding from private organizations and from donations.

I heard that all CCCS offices are in the pocket of the credit card companies. Is that true?
No. When we enroll a client in a Debt Management Plan (DMP) to deal with credit card debt, we act as a middleman between the client and the credit card bank. The credit card bank offers a discounted interest rate and sometimes a reduced monthly payment to the client. Our source of funding when setting up a DMP is an initial setup charge, a monthly processing charge, and a small payment from the bank. These funds offset the administrative costs needed to set up and maintain a DMP for a client.

Please keep this information in mind when you come to see us. We are able to provide a valuable, professional service to our clients because of the funding that we receive from various sources. If you have a satisfactory experience after your counseling session, consider making a donation to help us continue to serve the Triangle community.

Governor Signs New Foreclosure Reduction Bill

2008-08-22T12:26:00.003-04:00

Governor Easley signed into law on August 18, 2008 several bills that can help homeowners with subprime loans stay in their homes, and prevent future abuses in the mortgage lending industry. Here are the details of those new laws:

“Emergency Foreclosure Reduction Program” (HB 2623)
For homeowners with high interest loans originated between Jan 1, 2005 and Dec 31, 2007, mortgage lenders must give to the homeowner and the NC Commissioner of Banks 45 days notice before beginning any foreclosure procedures. The Commissioner’s office will work with the homeowner and lender to try to arrive at a new interest rate loan that is acceptable to both parties. The Commissioner has the authority to provide a 30 day extension to the foreclosure date to facilitate a workout. The law goes into effect Nov 1, 2008.

Regulation of Mortgage Servicers (HB 2463)
This bill provides stronger safeguards in North Carolina against loan servicing abuses. It requires that individuals and companies that service mortgage loans must register with and report to the Commissioner of Banks. The law goes into effect in its entirety on Jan 1, 2009.

Elimination of Yield Spread Premiums (HB 2188)
This bill eliminates kickbacks that certain mortgage brokers had received for steering customers into high interest loans. These kickbacks are noted as YSP (for Yield Spread Premiums) on the HUD-1 settlement statement all homeowners must receive at closing. The law goes into effect on Oct 1, 2008.

If you have any questions about your specific loan or whether there are any programs available to help you avoid foreclosure, we are a HUD-approved housing counseling agency and may be able to help. Call us at (919) 821-1770 to make an appointment.

Meeting Face-to-Face

2008-08-18T10:33:00.007-04:00

The vast majority of our CCCS counseling sessions take place at our Triangle Family Services offices in Raleigh or Durham. It's a rare treat these days for you to be able to schedule an appointment with a professional with less than a week's notice, to meet in a confidential setting, to have face time with a financial expert for as long as 1 1/2 hours to help solve your budget, credit, housing, or other money-related problems, and to do it all for free. Is there any reason why you should hesitate to come in to see us? Call today at (919) 821-1770.

Don't Wait Too Long to See Us

2008-08-13T16:07:00.002-04:00

Most clients wait until they have reached a crisis situation in their lives before they make an appointment with us. After maxing out all credit cards, draining their savings, and withdrawing their 401k funds, clients have few options left to bring themselves back to a stable financial position.

If you just need a budget tuneup, want to review your credit report and understand your credit score, or are on the verge of getting into financial trouble, come see us right away. We're much more likely to offer you several options that will improve your financial health and preserve your dwindling resources.

Call us today at (919) 821-1770 to set an appointment at our Raleigh or Durham location. Then download our application packet, fill it out completely, and bring it with you to your counseling session, along with all supporting pay stubs, bills, credit card statements, and mortgage documents.