Tag Archives: Housing Counseling

The budget proposal released Monday by the Obama administration calls for more than $3.7 trillion in spending for fiscal year 2012, and cuts of more than $1 trillion. The budget is centered around a theme of tough decisions that must be made, and the president says there must be efforts to cut or consolidate a number of programs. The proposal says the administration is committed to presenting a framework of principles that will build a new housing finance system that minimizes taxpayer exposure to financial risk.

A Virginia housing advocacy group released data this week that shows the housing circumstances in rural Virginia are arguably some of the direst in the nation. Key findings of the report say that the largest increase in foreclosure filings last year occurred in rural Virginia, easing only slightly when banks began moratoriums to review their foreclosure processes.

Wells Fargo will provide one-on-one consultation sessions for customers facing financial hardships January 25 and 26 in Brooklyn. Thousands of area homeowners are invited to the event, which will focus on avoiding foreclosure. The company says it is committed to helping people stay in their homes, and this workshop is another way for it to reach out to homeowners and provide answers on the options available for them.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has provided free foreclosure counseling assistance to more than 17,000 families through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program over the last two years. Created by Congress in January 2008 to address the nationwide foreclosure crisis by increasing the availability of free counseling for families at risk, the NFMC program has provided 1.12 million struggling homeowners with foreclosure prevention counseling across the nation.

The Air Force uses visual flight simulators to train its pilots for the actual experience. Virtual reality simulation models are used to help people overcome their fears or uneasiness about certain real-life situations. Fannie Mae is applying this same idea to foreclosure prevention. The GSE has unveiled an interactive multi-media tool called WaysHome that allows homeowners to put themselves in real-life situations they can identify with, make financial choices, and immediately see the outcomes of those actions.

The HOPE NOW industry alliance completed its fourth year in existence in 2010. The organization's latest market report estimates 1.65 million homeowners received permanent loan modifications from January to November 2010. The organization says it plans to be even more aggressive in its outreach efforts to distressed homeowners this year. Going forward, each of its members will participate in one major outreach event per month, in regions that have been most heavily affected by the mortgage and foreclosure crises.

There has been no shortage of reports of state attorneys general seeking accountability from servicers that they allege mishandled foreclosures. Now it's being reported that attorneys general in all 50 states are near to reaching settlements with the nation's top five mortgage servicers, including Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage. The states are looking to develop separate agreements, rather than one encompassing settlement; and they plan to pursue a civil investigation rather than a criminal one.

The online loan modification Web portal HOPE LoanPort announced Tuesday that it received a $100,000 grant from Chase Bank to help facilitate mortgage modifications. The Washington, D.C.-based company, developed by the HOPE NOW alliance, is a Web-based instrument that helps simplify the mortgage modification process by allowing HUD-approved housing counselors to collect and then upload modification documents directly to the mortgage servicers and track the applications.

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday a round of grants totaling nearly $73 million to more than 500 national, regional, and local organizations to provide housing counseling services. Agencies receiving the grants will focus on helping homebuyers and homeowners understand their financing and down payment options, and will help combat predatory lending by assisting borrowers with reviews of loan documentation. The new round of grants represent a 22 percent increase over last year's funding.

Fannie Mae is adding a sixth mortgage help center to its arsenal with its first Texas location. The new center, located in Dallas, is a partnership with two local non-profit housing agencies that will provide free counseling services for struggling Dallas/Fort Worth-area homeowners with loans owned by Fannie Mae. Counselors will review a borrower's loan, discuss foreclosure alternatives, collect the required documents for the federal Making Home Affordable program, and provide help to finalize any pending loan workout efforts.