Tag Archives: NeighborWorks America

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee point to the GSEs and the Obama administration's housing programs as areas for Congress' deficit reduction super-committee to examine as it works toward cutting $1.5 trillion of the nation's debt. A letter drafted by Chairman Spencer Bachus and signed by 20 Republican committee members first calls for an increase in the GSEs' guarantee fees and then the elimination of such programs as HAMP and HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has completed a new Credit Union Foreclosure Intervention Toolkit to help credit unions combat the foreclosure crisis in their communities. The toolkit was developed with the support of a financial education grant from the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF). The federation says it has seen the national foreclosure crisis reflected in a dramatic shift in demand between different types of counseling services, from pre-purchase to foreclosure intervention counseling.

Wells Fargo says it will increase its commitment to credit counseling nonprofits by $5.4 million to a total of $12.4 million in 2011 - a 35 percent increase over the $9.2 million in 2010 - for national and local credit counseling agencies. The company notes that public funding for credit counseling is becoming more scarce, while demand for such services is growing. Wells Fargo's $5.4 million in new commitments this year will be provided in the form of grant money directly to nonprofit agencies and support foreclosure prevention counseling services and training.

With the deadline for the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP) just a couple days away, HUD says it does not expect to meet the program's original goal of helping 30,000 homeowners, even after two deadline extensions. According to a HUD spokesperson, the main obstacle stems from the ""statutory requirements of the program and the statutory time limits."" The agency says approximately 75 percent of the applicants rejected did not meet the criteria of the program.

Nonprofits across the country are partnering up with lenders and government agencies to minimize neighborhood blight caused by vacant foreclosed properties. The topic was part of the curriculum at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo, and the panelists found themselves speaking to a full house. Paul Kaboth with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland started the discussion by stressing that a marketplace strained with high levels of REOs and vacancies will persist for at least another five years.

Fannie Mae last week opened a mortgage help center in Sacramento, California, to provide free education and counseling services to struggling local homeowners with Fannie Mae-owned mortgages. The facility is Fannie Mae's 10th mortgage help center across the country. The GSE developed the center in partnership with NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center Sacramento Region, which staffs the office, as well as with local community and elected officials and area mortgage servicers.

HUD is once again accepting applications for its Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP), which provides assistance to borrowers at risk of losing their homes due to unemployment or underemployment. The new deadline for applications is September 15. The original deadline of July 22 was extended to July 27, but HUD announced Monday that it is reopening the application process because the agency believes it has enough resources to help more homeowners than have currently applied.

HUD and NeighborWorks have extended the deadline for homeowners who have experienced a loss of income to apply for the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP). The new deadline is Wednesday, July 27. The cut-off date had originally been set for Friday, July 22. EHLP assists homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment as a result of the economy or a medical condition. Qualifying homeowners are awarded an interest free loan to pay a portion of their monthly mortgage for up to two years.

Unemployment has pushed many homeowners to the brink of foreclosure. Housing analysts have become especially vocal about the effect of extended periods of joblessness on mortgage performance. The average duration of unemployment was 40 weeks in May. On Monday, HUD and NeighborWorks announced the roll-out of the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP) to 27 states and Puerto Rico, extending over $800 million to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure because of a reduction in income.

NeighborWorks America announced this week that $67.7 million has been awarded to 37 state housing finance agencies, 17 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 84 community-based organizations to provide counseling to homeowners facing foreclosure. Demand for this latest round of grant money exceeded the amount of funding available, with more than $212.7 million requested from eligible applicants. NeighborWorks estimates the money will support assistance for nearly 184,000 families facing foreclosure.