The newly enhanced FHA Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Program will help struggling home owners—who qualify—to significantly reduce their monthly mortgage payments and stay in their homes, said NAR President Charles McMillan in a public statement.
The changes expand the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Program to include FHA borrowers. NAR is optimistic that this will have positive implications for thousands of home owners, McMillan said.
“Until foreclosures have been significantly reduced and housing inventory reaches a more normal level, there can be no true housing recovery," McMillan said. "The FHA–HAMP program will go a long way in achieving these important goals by helping FHA servicers bring mortgages current, buy down loans by up to 30 percent of the unpaid principal balance, and defer these amounts until the first mortgage is paid off."
NAR will continue to call on Congress and the Obama administration to expand the first-time home buyer tax credit to all home buyers and continue efforts to streamline the short-sale process.
"Along with the expanded loan modification program, addressing these issues will help reduce foreclosures and housing inventory, and stabilize home values," McMillan said.
Source: NAR
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Unemployment Batters Housing Market
Foreclosure activity continued to hit Florida, California, Nevada, and other parts of the Sun Belt region in the first six months of this year. However, RealtyTrac noted in its latest report that rising unemployment is escalating the trend elsewhere in the nation as well.
RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio confirmed that "some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, while new markets like Provo, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have seen large increases."
Established foreclosure hubs, including Las Vegas and Orlando, may actually be experiencing some improvement as deep price discounts and first-time home buyer tax credits draw more people into the market.
The shift from a foreclosure crisis driven by risky loan underwriting to one based on job losses and salary cuts, meanwhile, has increased activity in states like Oregon, Arkansas, Illinois, and South Carolina that previously were relatively insulated. "
As unemployment rates increase in different parts of the country, it's very likely that we'll see similar patterns develop elsewhere," says Saccacio.
Source: Reuters, Lynn Adler (07/30/09)
RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio confirmed that "some of the markets that had the highest saturation of foreclosures over the past few years have seen declining rates, while new markets like Provo, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, have seen large increases."
Established foreclosure hubs, including Las Vegas and Orlando, may actually be experiencing some improvement as deep price discounts and first-time home buyer tax credits draw more people into the market.
The shift from a foreclosure crisis driven by risky loan underwriting to one based on job losses and salary cuts, meanwhile, has increased activity in states like Oregon, Arkansas, Illinois, and South Carolina that previously were relatively insulated. "
As unemployment rates increase in different parts of the country, it's very likely that we'll see similar patterns develop elsewhere," says Saccacio.
Source: Reuters, Lynn Adler (07/30/09)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
IRS Cracking Down on False Tax Credit Claims
The IRS is cracking down on people who don’t qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit but try to claim it anyway.
The IRS says it is investigating 24 cases of people who falsely claimed the first-time homebuyer credit on their federal income tax returns. Getting caught making a false claim carries a penalty of up to three years in jail and a fine of as much as $250,000.
The First-Time Homebuyer Credit, enacted in 2008 and modified in 2009, provides up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers. The purchaser must be someone who has not owned a primary residence in the previous three years. If the taxpayer is married, this requirement also applies to the taxpayer’s spouse.
The home purchase must close before Dec. 1, and the credit may not be claimed on the purchaser’s tax return until after the taxpayer closes and has purchased the home.
Source: The Internal Revenue Service (07/29/2009) and The Boston Globe, Chris Reidy (08/03/2009)
The IRS says it is investigating 24 cases of people who falsely claimed the first-time homebuyer credit on their federal income tax returns. Getting caught making a false claim carries a penalty of up to three years in jail and a fine of as much as $250,000.
The First-Time Homebuyer Credit, enacted in 2008 and modified in 2009, provides up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers. The purchaser must be someone who has not owned a primary residence in the previous three years. If the taxpayer is married, this requirement also applies to the taxpayer’s spouse.
The home purchase must close before Dec. 1, and the credit may not be claimed on the purchaser’s tax return until after the taxpayer closes and has purchased the home.
Source: The Internal Revenue Service (07/29/2009) and The Boston Globe, Chris Reidy (08/03/2009)
Monday, July 27, 2009
Virtual Staging: Brilliant but Maybe Dangerous?
An emerging trend in real estate is the concept of "virtual staging," in which a sales associate e-mails photos of an empty house to a professional stager, who then digitally enhances the photos with artwork, furnishings, and other finishing touches to make the space seem more inviting.
There are several benefits to using this marketing tactic, including the money it saves sellers because they do not have to foot the bill for physical staging services that are both costly and time-consuming.
Additionally, virtual staging demonstrates that rooms are bigger than they often appear. Not only can the technique show prospective buyers how furniture will fit into a space, it also helps house-hunters who have trouble visualizing themselves and their belongings in an empty home.
However, there are some potential pitfalls to virtual staging, including liability issues. There is the chance, for example, that a buyer will challenge whether the digitally altered photos provided an accurate rendering of the space. After moving in, the new owner could make a case for misrepresentation of the property against the real estate practitioner.
Another problem is the lack of control that sellers and practitioners experience in terms of color schemes and accessories. Virtually staged properties tend toward neutral tones and commonplace art and window treatments that could turn off some prospective buyers.
Source: Examiner.com, Cece Blase (07/27/09)
There are several benefits to using this marketing tactic, including the money it saves sellers because they do not have to foot the bill for physical staging services that are both costly and time-consuming.
Additionally, virtual staging demonstrates that rooms are bigger than they often appear. Not only can the technique show prospective buyers how furniture will fit into a space, it also helps house-hunters who have trouble visualizing themselves and their belongings in an empty home.
However, there are some potential pitfalls to virtual staging, including liability issues. There is the chance, for example, that a buyer will challenge whether the digitally altered photos provided an accurate rendering of the space. After moving in, the new owner could make a case for misrepresentation of the property against the real estate practitioner.
Another problem is the lack of control that sellers and practitioners experience in terms of color schemes and accessories. Virtually staged properties tend toward neutral tones and commonplace art and window treatments that could turn off some prospective buyers.
Source: Examiner.com, Cece Blase (07/27/09)
Buyers Shouldn't Wait on Falling Prices
Fear of overpaying for property is common these days, especially in places like New York where prices continue to be unstable.
If you encounter potential buyers who are frozen because they are concerned that they will pay too much, here are some factors to point out:
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Douglas Heddings (07/27/2009)
If you encounter potential buyers who are frozen because they are concerned that they will pay too much, here are some factors to point out:
- Waiting for the right time can be expensive. Some buyers would have more equity today, despite falling prices, if they had bought when they were first considering it, instead of continuing to pay rent.
- Financing is fickle. Some people who were highly qualified last year can’t find financing this year because the credit market has tightened or their personal financial situation now makes them an undesirable borrower.
- Interest rates are headed up. If prices decline by another 10 percent, but interest rates increase by 1 percentage point, the monthly payment will be the same.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Douglas Heddings (07/27/2009)
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Countrywide Offers Help to Former Customers
Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide Financial Corp., one of the most active of the subprime lenders, has begun issuing checks to its borrowers who are eligible for foreclosure assistance under an agreement with attorneys general in 40 states.
Borrowers most likely to be eligible for assistance must have experienced a foreclosure, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure after taking out a Countrywide mortgage.
Rust Consulting, a third-party administrator, is managing the program, and notifying and paying eligible customers.
Source: Reuters News, Steve Eder (07/23/2009)
Borrowers most likely to be eligible for assistance must have experienced a foreclosure, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure after taking out a Countrywide mortgage.
Rust Consulting, a third-party administrator, is managing the program, and notifying and paying eligible customers.
Source: Reuters News, Steve Eder (07/23/2009)
Don't Abandon Underwater Mortgages
David Bach, author of The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner: A Lifetime Plan to Finish Rich in Real Estate, pooh-poohs the notion that it makes any sense at all to walk away from a property that is underwater.
In an interview with the AOL.com personal finance Web site, Walletpop.com, Bach said about 50 percent of homes in foreclosure are there because their owners walked away from underwater real estate. He calls that “stupid, short-term thinking” and recalls a condo he bought in New York City in 2003. He put down $600,000, then property values dropped and he lost all his equity. “I was bummed,” he said.
But the loss wasn’t permanent. Four years later he sold the condo for $3.65 million – and made a $1.5 million profit, after commissions and taxes.
Some people might have thought it was “logical” to walk away, he said. “But it would have cost me $1.5 million.”
Source: WalletPop, Zac Bissonnette (07/23/2009)
In an interview with the AOL.com personal finance Web site, Walletpop.com, Bach said about 50 percent of homes in foreclosure are there because their owners walked away from underwater real estate. He calls that “stupid, short-term thinking” and recalls a condo he bought in New York City in 2003. He put down $600,000, then property values dropped and he lost all his equity. “I was bummed,” he said.
But the loss wasn’t permanent. Four years later he sold the condo for $3.65 million – and made a $1.5 million profit, after commissions and taxes.
Some people might have thought it was “logical” to walk away, he said. “But it would have cost me $1.5 million.”
Source: WalletPop, Zac Bissonnette (07/23/2009)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Bake Sale Helps Mom Save Her Home
A Teaneck, N.J., mother of three advertised her plight and sold 500 home-baked apple cakes at $40 each to make the overdue mortgage payments that would make her eligible for a loan modification, saving her home from foreclosure.
Angela Logan’s story appeared first in The Record newspaper and then was widely promoted online and on television. Sympathetic readers and listeners sent in their orders.
Initially, disgruntled neighbors complained to health officials, who said that state law prohibited Logan from baking the cakes in her own kitchen, so the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights lent her their commercial kitchen. She filled the orders by baking for 10 hours straight.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (07/22)
Angela Logan’s story appeared first in The Record newspaper and then was widely promoted online and on television. Sympathetic readers and listeners sent in their orders.
Initially, disgruntled neighbors complained to health officials, who said that state law prohibited Logan from baking the cakes in her own kitchen, so the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights lent her their commercial kitchen. She filled the orders by baking for 10 hours straight.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (07/22)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Best Place to Age Is at Home
It is much cheaper for older people to live out their lives in a home of their own than it is to move to a residential center, but it takes work to make a home safer, according to the Home Safety Council.
The council advises anyone contemplating home safety for an older resident to consider hiring an occupational therapist who specializes in home modifications. If a physician writes a prescription for the changes, some insurance companies will cover at least some of the costs. Long-term care insurance may also pay for the upgrades, the council says.
Other possibilities for funding the improvements include Rebuilding Together, a national program created to help keep older people living safely in private homes.
Source: The New York Times, Lesley Alderman (07/18/2009)
The council advises anyone contemplating home safety for an older resident to consider hiring an occupational therapist who specializes in home modifications. If a physician writes a prescription for the changes, some insurance companies will cover at least some of the costs. Long-term care insurance may also pay for the upgrades, the council says.
Other possibilities for funding the improvements include Rebuilding Together, a national program created to help keep older people living safely in private homes.
Source: The New York Times, Lesley Alderman (07/18/2009)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
FTC Cracks Down on Mortgage Relief Scams
The Federal Trade Commission and prosecutors in 19 states filed 189 legal actions on Wednesday against loan modification consultants, accusing them of cheating desperate home owners.
All but one of the lawsuits were filed in the U.S. district Court for the Central District of California. At a press conference in Los Angeles, California Attorney General Jerry Brown and the FTC alleged that U.S. Foreclosure Relief, Lucas Law Center, Loss Mitigation Services, and Apply2Save did practically nothing to help home owners and charged them one month’s mortgage payment or more in advance.
Brown said, “they ripped off thousands of home owners desperately seeking mortgage relief.”
Source: The Associated Press, Jacob Adelman, and Inman News (07/15/2009)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Unemployed Might Get Anti-Foreclosure Help
The Obama administration is reportedly considering a program that would give loan forbearance to the unemployed. The aim of the program is to provide help without distorting the housing market.
The program would augment the federal loan modification program, giving unemployed workers more time and financial leeway to qualify for a new loan.
So far the loan modification program hasn’t been very successful for a variety of reasons, including the declining equity many troubled borrowers have in their homes and rising unemployment figures that make lenders unwilling to participate.
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department asked the 25 largest mortgage service companies to appoint a liaison officer to work with the government to slow defaults. On July 28, Treasury will host a meeting with these servicers to examine whether qualified applicants are being ignored.
Source: Reuters News, Patrick Rucker and David Lawder (07/13/2009)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
In California, mortgage scammers find easy pickings
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-mortgage-fraud6-2009jul06,0,1643135.story
From the Los Angeles Times
As foreclosures climb, so does fraud by schemers preying on desperate homeowners hoping to modify their loans. State investigators have 750 open cases -- up from just 10 a year ago.
By Jessica Garrison
July 5, 2009
Maricela Castellanos sat at her desk, the telephone pressed to her ear, a chill running through her body.
A representative from her mortgage company was on the line with troubling information about the loan on Castellanos' Hesperia home.
No one at the company had previously been in contact with her, Castellanos recalled the man saying. The bank had no record of a new loan agreement with her, he said, nor had it received cashier's checks for $2,260 and $1,408.23 she said she had sent.
Castellanos had been a victim of an alleged loan modification swindle -- a financial crime in which scammers pretend to help distressed borrowers renegotiate their mortgages with their banks but instead pocket the money and leave the homeowners in worse straits than before.
Law enforcement officials say the scams are becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in California, where the Department of Real Estate has reported an explosion from 10 open cases a year ago to more than 750 this spring. Nationally, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has said that the FBI's "rescue scam" caseload is up 400% from five years ago.
Some schemes advertise with hand-drawn signs on freeway ramps, while others target homeowners by name with carefully forged documents that appear to come from their lender.
The alleged scam artists to whom Castellanos paid more than $5,000 last fall were among the most sophisticated operating in California, authorities said, stymieing investigators with a thicket of bank accounts, 1-800 numbers and wire transfers to Mexico.
"Trying to piece it together . . . was an incredibly difficult thing to do," said Deputy Atty. Gen. Angela Rosenau.
Hours after Castellanos' conversation with her lender, an unfamiliar car paused in front of her house.
Sandy Birch, an investigator with the California Department of Justice, had arrived with a cashier's check Castellanos had sent to a post office box in the San Fernando Valley.
"I want to know why you were sending money there," Castellanos recalled Birch asking her.
Castellanos told the investigator that she and her husband had bought their three-bedroom home on Manzanita Street in 2005. Their $280,000 loan had a monthly payment of about $1,700 -- manageable on her salary as an office manager and her husband's work at a golf course. Then her husband got laid off.
In July 2008, the mortgage fell into default. In August, Castellanos received a letter that appeared to be from her lender, telling her she could enroll in a free program to save her home. It even included a warning to beware of foreclosure rescue scams.
"I really fell for it," she said, adding that she responded immediately.
Days later, a man phoned Castellanos to say she and her husband had been approved for a more affordable loan, with delinquency fees tacked onto the end.
This sounded reasonable, Castellanos recalled, so she didn't question it when told to send her payments via money order or cashier's check to the "Payment Processing Department" at a postal box in North Hills.
But her bank had nothing to do with the purported new loan or the mail drop.
The California attorney general's office had been fielding complaints for months from homeowners who had fallen victim to what one prosecutor termed a "brilliant scheme."
Representatives of this operation allegedly induced homeowners to send them as many as three consecutive mortgage payments. More than $1 million flowed through a series of bank accounts, much of it eventually crossing the border to banks in Mexico, according to the attorney general's office.
In some cases, people lost their homes because they did nothing to head off foreclosure, believing they had made a deal with their bank.
Despite there being hundreds of victims, investigators found the trail confusing. The operation did not register its phone lines in its own name. Instead, investigators said, its 800-numbers ran through Internet phone companies. It was the same with the bank accounts.
Birch, Rosenau and a forensic auditor began working backward from the accounts where checks were deposited and postal boxes where victims sent their money.
They determined that much of the money seemed to go to Juan Jose Perez and Isuara Hernandez, a married couple with three children who had recently lived in San Bernardino County.
On Oct. 27, the attorney general's office filed a 39-count complaint charging Hernandez, Perez and several associates with grand theft, money-laundering and conspiracy. Five of Hernandez and Perez's associates pleaded guilty; but Hernandez and Perez, who authorities say are the ringleaders, have eluded capture.
Investigators suspect they went to Mexico.
On Oct. 29, the trail led to Anna Santos, 22, of North Hills.
Santos, who has three children, told investigators she had no idea she was involved in anything illegal. She had answered a help-wanted ad to be the "U.S. financial representative" for a firm selling time-shares in Mexico, according to court papers and Santos' husband.
Santos told investigators that her employer, a woman she knew only as Laura, told her to open post office boxes and bank accounts in her own name. Every few days, Laura would call Santos and tell her there was mail waiting for her. Santos would retrieve it, deposit it, keep $100 for herself and wire the rest of the money to Laura in Mexico. (Investigators believe Laura is Isuara Hernandez.)
Birch told Santos she had been involved in defrauding people. She also warned her that other people who had worked for Hernandez in a similar capacity had recently been arrested. Finally, Birch told Santos not to pick up any more checks from the post office box.
But two weeks later, Birch got a call from the manager of the North Hills Post Office. Santos had signed for two packages, he said. She then deposited checks at a bank and withdrew $5,963 in cash, according to court records.
Santos was arrested March 11. She pleaded guilty and on May 20 was sentenced to two years in prison.
Her husband, Dimas Santos, said his wife "was only trying to feed her children." He said it is not fair that his wife, who was told she was working for a time-share company, is in jail while Hernandez and Perez remain at large.
Castellanos, meanwhile, was able to work out a loan modification with her real bank, allowing her family to stay in their Hesperia home.
But authorities say that for every happy ending, there are plenty more people likely to fall victim, especially as the economy continues to sputter. Officials at the Department of Real Estate said there were 230,000 foreclosures in California last year, with as many or more expected this year.
That makes a lot of potential victims, noted Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. "People are desperate," he added. "Desperate people do desperate things."
jessica.garrison@latimes.com
From the Los Angeles Times
As foreclosures climb, so does fraud by schemers preying on desperate homeowners hoping to modify their loans. State investigators have 750 open cases -- up from just 10 a year ago.
By Jessica Garrison
July 5, 2009
Maricela Castellanos sat at her desk, the telephone pressed to her ear, a chill running through her body.
A representative from her mortgage company was on the line with troubling information about the loan on Castellanos' Hesperia home.
No one at the company had previously been in contact with her, Castellanos recalled the man saying. The bank had no record of a new loan agreement with her, he said, nor had it received cashier's checks for $2,260 and $1,408.23 she said she had sent.
Castellanos had been a victim of an alleged loan modification swindle -- a financial crime in which scammers pretend to help distressed borrowers renegotiate their mortgages with their banks but instead pocket the money and leave the homeowners in worse straits than before.
Law enforcement officials say the scams are becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in California, where the Department of Real Estate has reported an explosion from 10 open cases a year ago to more than 750 this spring. Nationally, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has said that the FBI's "rescue scam" caseload is up 400% from five years ago.
Some schemes advertise with hand-drawn signs on freeway ramps, while others target homeowners by name with carefully forged documents that appear to come from their lender.
The alleged scam artists to whom Castellanos paid more than $5,000 last fall were among the most sophisticated operating in California, authorities said, stymieing investigators with a thicket of bank accounts, 1-800 numbers and wire transfers to Mexico.
"Trying to piece it together . . . was an incredibly difficult thing to do," said Deputy Atty. Gen. Angela Rosenau.
Hours after Castellanos' conversation with her lender, an unfamiliar car paused in front of her house.
Sandy Birch, an investigator with the California Department of Justice, had arrived with a cashier's check Castellanos had sent to a post office box in the San Fernando Valley.
"I want to know why you were sending money there," Castellanos recalled Birch asking her.
Castellanos told the investigator that she and her husband had bought their three-bedroom home on Manzanita Street in 2005. Their $280,000 loan had a monthly payment of about $1,700 -- manageable on her salary as an office manager and her husband's work at a golf course. Then her husband got laid off.
In July 2008, the mortgage fell into default. In August, Castellanos received a letter that appeared to be from her lender, telling her she could enroll in a free program to save her home. It even included a warning to beware of foreclosure rescue scams.
"I really fell for it," she said, adding that she responded immediately.
Days later, a man phoned Castellanos to say she and her husband had been approved for a more affordable loan, with delinquency fees tacked onto the end.
This sounded reasonable, Castellanos recalled, so she didn't question it when told to send her payments via money order or cashier's check to the "Payment Processing Department" at a postal box in North Hills.
But her bank had nothing to do with the purported new loan or the mail drop.
The California attorney general's office had been fielding complaints for months from homeowners who had fallen victim to what one prosecutor termed a "brilliant scheme."
Representatives of this operation allegedly induced homeowners to send them as many as three consecutive mortgage payments. More than $1 million flowed through a series of bank accounts, much of it eventually crossing the border to banks in Mexico, according to the attorney general's office.
In some cases, people lost their homes because they did nothing to head off foreclosure, believing they had made a deal with their bank.
Despite there being hundreds of victims, investigators found the trail confusing. The operation did not register its phone lines in its own name. Instead, investigators said, its 800-numbers ran through Internet phone companies. It was the same with the bank accounts.
Birch, Rosenau and a forensic auditor began working backward from the accounts where checks were deposited and postal boxes where victims sent their money.
They determined that much of the money seemed to go to Juan Jose Perez and Isuara Hernandez, a married couple with three children who had recently lived in San Bernardino County.
On Oct. 27, the attorney general's office filed a 39-count complaint charging Hernandez, Perez and several associates with grand theft, money-laundering and conspiracy. Five of Hernandez and Perez's associates pleaded guilty; but Hernandez and Perez, who authorities say are the ringleaders, have eluded capture.
Investigators suspect they went to Mexico.
On Oct. 29, the trail led to Anna Santos, 22, of North Hills.
Santos, who has three children, told investigators she had no idea she was involved in anything illegal. She had answered a help-wanted ad to be the "U.S. financial representative" for a firm selling time-shares in Mexico, according to court papers and Santos' husband.
Santos told investigators that her employer, a woman she knew only as Laura, told her to open post office boxes and bank accounts in her own name. Every few days, Laura would call Santos and tell her there was mail waiting for her. Santos would retrieve it, deposit it, keep $100 for herself and wire the rest of the money to Laura in Mexico. (Investigators believe Laura is Isuara Hernandez.)
Birch told Santos she had been involved in defrauding people. She also warned her that other people who had worked for Hernandez in a similar capacity had recently been arrested. Finally, Birch told Santos not to pick up any more checks from the post office box.
But two weeks later, Birch got a call from the manager of the North Hills Post Office. Santos had signed for two packages, he said. She then deposited checks at a bank and withdrew $5,963 in cash, according to court records.
Santos was arrested March 11. She pleaded guilty and on May 20 was sentenced to two years in prison.
Her husband, Dimas Santos, said his wife "was only trying to feed her children." He said it is not fair that his wife, who was told she was working for a time-share company, is in jail while Hernandez and Perez remain at large.
Castellanos, meanwhile, was able to work out a loan modification with her real bank, allowing her family to stay in their Hesperia home.
But authorities say that for every happy ending, there are plenty more people likely to fall victim, especially as the economy continues to sputter. Officials at the Department of Real Estate said there were 230,000 foreclosures in California last year, with as many or more expected this year.
That makes a lot of potential victims, noted Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. "People are desperate," he added. "Desperate people do desperate things."
jessica.garrison@latimes.com
Thursday, July 2, 2009
NAR Gives to Foreclosure Prevention Programs
The National Association of REALTORS® has awarded more than $682,000 to 25 local and state REALTOR® associations through its Foreclosure Prevention and Response grant program. The grants help REALTOR® boards develop and fund local foreclosure-prevention programs.
More than $3 million is available to state and local associations through the program to help REALTORS®, their clients, and communities nationwide resolve the growing foreclosure problem. Funds can be used to:
More than $3 million is available to state and local associations through the program to help REALTORS®, their clients, and communities nationwide resolve the growing foreclosure problem. Funds can be used to:
- Give consumers foreclosure prevention information and financial counseling.
- Educate and train REALTORS® about foreclosure prevention, short sales, and auctions.
- Help Realtors® and their associations form partnerships and get more involved in their communities to address foreclosures and support local neighborhood stabilization efforts.
“REALTORS® build communities, and as the leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, we believe that any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many,” NAR President Charles McMillan says. “Foreclosures affect each community differently, which is why NAR is providing the Foreclosure Prevention and Response grants directly to local and state REALTOR® associations – so that they can develop unique, coordinated action plans to prevent foreclosures and minimize their adverse effects on the community.”
NAR has also developed a Foreclosure Prevention and Response Toolkit for local and state associations. This free online toolkit helps associations develop a local foreclosure response program and support the work of REALTORS® in the community. Toolkit resources include a list of training programs, government and other grant programs, and opportunities for community involvement and best practices, including developing community-wide strategies.
Additional information on the approved grants is available at www.realtor.org/foreclosure.
— NAR
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
HAF: Mortgage Protection Program
To help provide first-time home buyers with peace of mind when purchasing a home, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Housing Affordability Fund (C.A.R.H.A.F.) is offering a FREE supplemental insurance product for qualified first time homebuyers. Through the C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund’s Mortgage Protection Program (C.A.R.H.A.F. MPP), first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 per month, for six months, to help make their mortgage payments, qualified co-buyers can receive $750. Home buyers must request an application for the H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program from their REALTOR®.
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