State housing agency secures $619,696 grant to expand home foreclosure prevention efforts
AUSTIN, TX – June 17, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced that the state has secured a $619,696 federal grant that will significantly further its efforts to reduce the number of home foreclosures across Texas and help stabilize families, declining home values, and local government coffers.The grant, awarded through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program – Round 5, will provide counseling to potentially as many as 1,500 Texas homeowners in or facing a home foreclosure and help them avoid foreclosure.
TDHCA will jointly administer the funds with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC), a nonprofit organization charted by the Texas Legislature for the promotion of affordable housing, to bring aid to 13 local and regional nonprofit agencies providing direct foreclosure prevention counseling to their clients.
TDHCA and TSAHC each committed $25,000 in matching funds to help secure the grant; combined with the $73,000 in financial and in-kind match contributions from counseling agencies at the local level, Texas’ contribution of $123,000 will help leverage the $619,696 in federal funds.
“We are extremely pleased to receive news of this award allowing TDHCA and its partners to continue working to blunt the devastating effects foreclosures have on the families and neighborhoods that comprise our great State,” said Michael Gerber, TDHCA Executive Director. “TDHCA feels this is an excellent return on State resources, and we pledge to maximize the benefits this grant will bring.”
“We are excited that Texas has been awarded a substantial grant through the NFMC Program to help prevent home foreclosures in Texas,” said David Long, TSAHC President. “We know foreclosure prevention counseling is effective and we will continue to partner with TDHCA to secure grants, like NFMC, to provide Texas families who are struggling to keep their home with free counseling from nonprofits that specialize in guiding a family through this difficult process.”
The local nonprofit agencies receiving a portion of these funds include: Habitat for Humanity, Business and Community Lenders (BCL) of Texas, and Frameworks Community Development Corporation, all of Austin; Consumer Credit Counseling Services of South Texas, Corpus Christi; North Texas Housing Coalition and Garden State Consumer Credit Counseling/Novadebt, both of Dallas; El Paso Community Action Program/Project BRAVO, El Paso; Credit Coalition, Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, and Gulf Coast Community Services Association, all located in Houston; and Affordable Housing Centers of America, Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Greater San Antonio, and Our Casas Resident Council, all of San Antonio.
The NFMC Program provides federal foreclosure prevention funds, administered through the national nonprofit organization NeighborWorks America, to state and local foreclosure prevention intervention and training programs. A portion of the funds may also help cover administrative expenses incurred by these local nonprofit agencies.
Local nonprofit agencies assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure by conducting a financial analysis of the client’s financial situation, researching to determine the present value of the client’s home, and reviewing the options available to the client such as a financial restructuring of their mortgage loan. Eligible recipients of foreclosure intervention counseling must own and reside in single-family properties with mortgages in default or in danger of default.
Funds will be targeted to regions of the State with the greatest need, as determined by NeighborWorks America. TDHCA and TSAHC committed in their application that at least 20 percent of counseling sessions will benefit minority households and at least 50 percent will benefit low-income households.
The NFMC Program was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This is the fourth NFMC grant Texas has received since the funds were first made available, with awards totaling $1,619,439. Previous grants helped provide foreclosure prevention counseling to 2,813 homeowners, with 732 of these households receiving a mortgage loan modification or initiating a forbearance agreement or repayment plan.
The grant funds announced today will reimburse the 13 local nonprofit agencies for counseling services provided between October 10, 2010, and December 31, 2011.
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 and energy assistance programs, and colonia activities. The Department currently administers $3 billion through for-profit, nonprofit, and local government partnerships to deliver local housing and community-based opportunities and assistance to Texans in need.
Contact:
Gordon Anderson 512-475-4743
Jill McFarren 512-475-2844
