Morgan Lewis Helps Struggling Homeowners
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius is offering pro bono help to low-income homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments.
The firm’s pilot project in Washington, D.C., which started in July, seeks to avoid foreclosures of homes for unpaid taxes, the New York Law Journal reports. The law firm has access to a room at the courthouse to counsel homeowners for two hours every Wednesday.
Lawyers help homeowners obtain low-interest loans or reverse mortgages so they can pay off the taxes. They also help untangle legal messes that arise when third parties buy the tax liens in hopes of obtaining the property through foreclosure.
“This is a problem that’s flying under the radar screen,” Michael Wilson of Morgan Lewis told the legal newspaper. “We need to catch these people—mostly low-income elderly people—before they wind up in a black hole they can’t get out of.”
