$40 Million for New York Homeowners for Counseling, Lawyers

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's attorney general says another $40 million will go to organizations providing counseling and legal services to struggling homeowners, extending the existing program for two more years.

The program intended to help families behind in their mortgage payments to keep their homes has allocated funds to 89 agencies around the state since October 2012 to help owners with loan modifications or deal with the foreclosure process.

According to the attorney general's office, they have worked with 34,000 families, with many able to keep their homes.

More than 5,000 have had loan modifications accepted and more than 6,000 have modifications pending.

The program began with a three-year commitment of $60 million.

The funds come from settlements of investigations of bank wrongdoing in the mortgage crisis.

(Story by: The Associated Press)