Last week North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell presented WAMY Community Action in Boone over $8000 in unclaimed property funds. WAMY serves Watauga, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey counties through housing and weatherization assistance, food and nutrition programs, family and youth development services. During a review of data in the Department of State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division, commonly called NCCash.com staff identified $8,716.27 belonging to WAMY. There are 17.7 million properties valued at $1.02 billion under the State Treasurer’s custody awaiting return to the rightful owners after being lost, misdirected or overlooked. According to Allison Jennings, WAMY development director, the money being returned to the agency will be put to immediate use. Jennings said, “We’re going to be able to offer lots of home repairs here in the community and continue fighting poverty. A lot of our funding right now is used for home repairs because people can hardly afford to buy an affordable home.”
Unclaimed property being held consists of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds and contents of safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned or forgotten. In WAMY’s service area there is more than $11 million waiting to be claimed by the rightful owners:
- Avery: 32,067 properties valued at $2,040,577
- Mitchell: 20,717 properties valued at $1,415,747
- Watauga: 95,858 properties valued at $5,764,827
- Yancey: 24,597 properties valued at $1,913,750
More information, including how to find out if you are owed money, can be found at https://www.nccash.com/