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Loading ...The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved housing counseling agencies to provide assistance to homeowners in trouble of losing their homes to foreclosures. With a 55 percent increase in clients since it started in 2001, more and more people have benefitted from the counseling services these non-profit agencies provide.
With the growing number of clients seeking help in their foreclosures problems, HUD has announced that it will provide additional Housing Counseling Grant’s to non-profit agencies to fund additional counselors for foreclosures prevention. HUD has already funded $50 million this year for foreclosure prevention counseling efforts.
This fund was provided to at least 1,800 counseling agencies that provide help to homeowners with their mortgage concerns and assist them in communicating with their servicers. Federal support has also reached $360 million to support these efforts.
These counseling agencies are helping troubled homeowners deal with foreclosures by helping them review their financial situations. They also help these troubled homeowners to talk with their lenders and work out a best solution for their mortgages that would be beneficial for both parties and avoid foreclosures. These agencies also conduct seminars and awareness campaigns to help neighborhoods deal with the problems associated with foreclosure properties.
In one particular case, counselors from Southwest Improvement Community, a non-profit agency approved by HUD, helped a medically-challenged Yolanda Garcia. She is a resident from Denver, who had problems paying her mortgages after a leg surgery, and sought mortgage counseling.
After discussions with Garcia’s lenders, her interest rates dropped from 10 percent to 3 percent. Thousands of similar cases have already been registered, with homeowners saving their homes from foreclosures.
Officials from the Housing and Urban Development have signified that the presence of housing counselors is crucial in addressing the current housing crisis. A resolution to the problems of the housing and mortgage industries is a vital key to the economic recovery of the country.
