State housing agency secures $450,000 grant to intensify foreclosure prevention efforts
AUSTIN, TX – October 19, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has announced that it has secured $449,960 in federal grant funds through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program to help stem the tide of home foreclosures and bring stability to families, neighborhoods and local government finances.
TDHCA will use these funds to build on the foreclosure prevention counseling effort it launched late last year as part of an earlier round of NFMC funding. Through this initiative, the Department and nine partner organizations at the local level will work with Texas homeowners in or near a foreclosure to map out a repayment plan or other modification to their mortgage loan. All counseling will be provided free of charge for homeowners in danger of losing their home.
TDHCA Executive Director Michael Gerber welcomed news of the grant which will help provide counseling for an estimated 1,681 homeowners through June 2010.
“TDHCA and our counseling partners are eager to access these grant funds and continue working to help Texans avoid foreclosure and keep their homes,” said Gerber. “While Texas has not experienced foreclosures rates as high as those of other states, the loss of a home is always personally and financially devastating. Of equal concern, foreclosed homes drag down property values and can potentially ruin neighborhoods. We want to do everything we can to prevent that from happening.”
This award is the second NFMC grant to the Department from NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts. The Department in December 2008 received a $387,000 grant to expand foreclosure prevention efforts at the local level.
Included among the local counseling providers set to receive a share of grant funds are: Frameworks Community Development Corporation, Austin; CCCS of South Texas, Corpus Christi; North Texas Housing Coalition, Dallas; El Paso Community Action Program/Project Bravo, El Paso; Credit Coalition, Houston; Gulf Coast Community Services Association, Houston; New Vision Housing Alliance, Houston; the City of San Antonio; and Our Casas Resident Council, San Antonio.
Those eligible to receive foreclosure intervention counseling must own and reside in one-unit, single-family properties with mortgages in default or in danger of default. Counseling will include a financial analysis of each client’s situation, research to determine the current value of the client’s home, and a review of available options, such as a restructuring of the mortgage loan.
Funds are targeted to regions of the state with the greatest need, defined as areas experiencing a high rate of subprime lending, delinquent loans, and foreclosure starts. TDHCA is committed to provide 35 percent of all counseling sessions to low income and/or minority neighborhoods and 65 percent of counseling sessions to low income and/or minority homeowners.
The grant is being jointly administered by TDHCA and the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC), a nonprofit organization charted by the Texas Legislature for the promotion affordable housing. TDHCA and TSAHC, using funds provided by the Meadows Foundation, are providing a collective total of $89,992 in matching funds or in-kind match for this grant.
About The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is the state agency responsible for affordable housing, community services, energy assistance, colonia housing programs, and disaster recovery housing programs. It currently administers over $1 billion through for-profit, nonprofit, and local government partnerships to deliver local housing and community-based opportunities and assistance to Texans in need.
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Contact:
Gordon Anderson 512.475.4743
Jill McFarren 512.475.2844
