JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, or NACA, promises to help struggling homeowners save their houses from foreclosure. But are those promises kept?
The goal seems simple: help struggling homeowners with their mortgages. But Action News has learned the process is anything but. NACA's American Dream tour drew thousands of people from across Northeast Florida looking for assistance last march.
"It's a same day solution. In other words if you come in with all your paperwork you can walk out with a solution,” said U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown.
That promise of a quick fix has Tom Stephens with the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Florida worried.
“They need to be aware that there's never an easy fix to a problem that took a number of years to create,” said Stephens.
Action News did some digging and discovered 165 complaints were filed against NACA with the Better Business Bureau over the past three years. NACA is not graded by the bureau because the company is a non-profit.
“What they've received is less that what was promised,” said Stephens. “A lot of complaints about the process takes too long, the process didn't work, they never got any help, etc."
The program’s chief operating officer, Detria Russell, says NACA is a great opportunity for home buyers and homeowners. “Many people will actually have lower payments when they leave, some will walk out saving hundreds of dollars, interest rates can go as low as 2%. So we negotiate on behalf of that homeowner to get an outcome that’s beneficial to them.”
Russell told Action News that like most businesses, complaints are filed for a variety of reasons but they work to address each one of them.
NACA representatives will be available from 8am to 8pm Thursday through Monday at Edward Waters College Gymnasium, located at 1859 Kings Rd.
