On July 1, 2009, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced an expansion of the Making Home Affordable Refinance Program to include borrowers who are current but up to 125 percent underwater on their mortgage. The announcement was made while the Secretary toured a Las Vegas neighborhood with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Congresswoman Dina Titus.
“This decision is part of our ongoing efforts to maximize the effectiveness of the Making Home Affordable program and adapt to an ever-changing housing market,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geither. “By expanding refinance eligibility, we can bring relief to more struggling homeowners more quickly. It’s a crucial step in our broader efforts to get America’s housing market and economy on the path to recovery.”
Las Vegas is the ground zero of the foreclosure crisis. Not only does the area lead the nation in foreclosures, more than two-thirds of current mortgage holders in the market have mortgages higher than their property is currently worth. Prior to the announced expansion, only those borrowers whose first mortgage did not exceed 105 percent of the current market value of their property were eligible for the program.
Donovan also announced plans to deploy HUD Foreclosure Rapid Response Teams to assess the area hardest hit by foreclosure, starting in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas team will consist of two-senior-level HUD Field staff having experience in Single Family Housing and community outreach. Over they next two weeks these team members will be determining the need in Nevada and surrounding areas. HUD will commit two full-time employees to implement the Foreclosure Rapid Response Team’s recommendations.
Additionally, HUD plans to deploy two Fair Housing equal opportunity specialists to the Las Vegas HUD office. HUD receive about 100 housing discrimination complaints annually from Nevada residents, more than double what was received in 2005. The Fair Housing specialists will conduct local outreach and education as well as receiving discrimination complaints and conducting investigations. With a local presence, HUD’s Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity office should make it easier for Nevada Residents to obtain justice and relief , to educate housing consumers about predatory lending and to conduct program compliance and monitoring in more than 3,000 public housing units and over 8,500 Section 8 Vouchers.
Last 3 posts by Jay Hammond
- Mortgage modification law threatens right to representation in California - July 15th, 2009
- How Cities & States are coping with foreclosure - July 10th, 2009
- Freddie Mac educates borrowers via YouTube - July 9th, 2009
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- Struggling Home Owners Loan Modifications Turned Down Because Too Affordable
- Builders, Realtors attack new regs on home appraisal
- Unintended Conquences: Housing Discrimination Spikes as Crisis Continues
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