Hurricane Sandy caused over $30 billion in damage in New Jersey in 2012, and five years later a lot of residents are still being affected by the superstorm. Many victims of the storm’s path have been struggling to pay mortgages on their damaged homes. Many have either fallen into or are in danger of falling into foreclosure on their primary residences.

Even five years later, many have not yet received a certification of occupancy to return to their homes. These issues are most notable along shore towns, which not only saw more damage from the storm, but are now seeing less business due to the destruction of both primary and vacation homes – not to mention local business properties. With the shore towns bringing in much of the state’s tourist economy, effects are then even more widespread as tourism falls, and locals are finding it harder to allocate jobs. read more