NAREB Prepares to Launch Phase II of HAP

The ""National Association of Real Estate Brokers"":http://www.nareb.com/default.aspx (NAREB) announced Wednesday that it is ready to launch the next phase of its foreclosure mitigation initiative, the Homeowner's Assurance Program (HAP).

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NAREB originally launched HAP in 2011 as an engagement between the organization and several Wall Street investors. The plan was to produce a 25-city, $1.2 billion REO and foreclosure mitigation initiative to address the effects of foreclosures on minority communities across the country. Since launching HAP, NAREB has rolled out the initiative in all of its markets.

In February 2012, NAREB announced that loss mitigation expert ""24 Asset Management Corporation"":http://24asset.com/ had been selected to manage the REOs and non-performing loans purchased from HUD and other financial institutions.

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Now, NAREB and 24 Asset are prepared to move on to the initiative's next phase, during which 24 Asset will give NAREB-approved brokers a chance to provide REO broker services to other 24 Asset clients, including Fannie Mae, JPMorgan Chase, and CITI.

Phase II of the HAP initiative will launch August 5 at the Annual Convention of NAREB in Cleveland, Ohio. This phase is intended to target troubled homeowners, including first-time homebuyers and others who were caught in the credit crunch and are having trouble purchasing a home. In what NAREB referred to as a ""Boots on the Ground"" initiative, professionals will work to prequalify homeowners and homebuyers to help them obtain or stay in their homes.

""We are very pleased that the HAP initiative is being launched in partnership with 24 Asset,"" said NAREB president Julius Cartwright. ""This is going to create an incredible business opportunity for our qualified NAREB members to play a critical role in helping to sustain, preserve, and restore minority neighborhoods across the country. In addition, it means helping our members gain access to the efforts of the Government Sponsored Enterprises and banks in reaching clients that NAREB members have traditionally serviced for the past several decades.""