Archive for the 'Foreclosure Help' Category

Distressed homeowners can expect more aid to come their way to help them save their properties from becoming bank foreclosed home. This is what Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell told the audience during the ceremony for the unveiling of $2.5 million federal funds intended for the brownfield redevelopment at the Housatonic Community College.

Rell reflected on the change in the mood of the country from the previous year, adding that the economic downturn has victimized everyone in the state. She pointed out the crisis in the subprime mortgage loan market and noted that many homeowners are currently struggling and need help to survive the crisis.

According to industry analysts, many homeowners who are creditworthy are struggling to make their mortgage payments because they have lost their jobs or their working hours were reduced.

As part of its assistance to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosures, the state expanded the eligibility for its Connecticut Fair Alternative Mortgage Lending Initiative and Education Services (CTFAMILIES) and the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP) in order that many families could avail of these programs.

Under the CTFAMILIES, a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is provided to homeowners. The original program was intended for homeowners with subprime adjustable rate loans. Under the new CTFAMILIES, all types of home loans are eligible for refinancing.

The program received many criticisms because since it was launched in December 2007, it was able to refinance just 72 loans. Data released by the Connecticut Housing and Finance Authority showed that the program declined 79 loan applications because borrowers do not have the ability to repay loans while 158 applicants did not qualify in the program’s income requirement.

Meanwhile, EMAP provides loans with low interest rates to homeowners who experience a drop in their income to help them make their accounts current. However, the program was criticized for providing assistance only to just 50 homeowners in its first year of operation.

The old EMAP was available only to homeowners who lost about 25 percent of their income. But the new program removed the income requirement and added unanticipated household expenses. This means that homeowners who anticipate loan delinquency can apply for the program.

In addition, Rell signed a law mandating courts to supervise foreclosure mediation between lenders and borrowers.

City officials of Santa Rosa, California are planning to develop a 20-acre property on Bank Foreclosure List into 400 apartments for low-income families. The foreclosed property was once intended for market-rate houses in the southeast and southwest quadrants of the city.

Members of the city council are expected to apply for about $80 million federal funding to buy the three parcels of land on Bank Foreclosure List. Under the plan, the city government will give the bulk of the federal funds to builders who will need them to construct affordable houses.

Santa Rosa’s director of economic development and housing David Gouin said that aside from providing affordable housing to poor resident of the city, the program is also expected to generate about 550 construction jobs.

The $80 million money is part of the $1.9 billion federal package set up to help states and local governments purchase and renovate abandoned residential properties on Bank Foreclosure List. The city’s funding request represents about 4 percent of the total federal package available nationwide.

Gouin explained that some areas in the country, including California, have competitive edge for the federal funds because of high default rates. California is one of the states with the highest foreclosure rate nationwide.

Since February, the city has been asking banks, land owners and real estate agents what properties are in danger of foreclosure, the criteria in order for the city to qualify for federal funds.

For its project, the city has identified the 2.8-acre Kawana Terrace which was once targeted for 39 houses by Das Homes before it was taken over by Exchange Bank. The second property involved in the project is the 8.3-acre Sundance Village which was originally planned for 51 home developments by MetroPacific Properties. The property was repossessed by Comerica Bank.

Another property selected for the project is the 8.7-acred Village Gardens where Christopherson Homes planned to build 110 condominiums until it was taken over by Wells Fargo Bank.

Economic development and housing manager Nancy Gornowicz said that two of the proposed projects have a better chance of meeting requirements and federal spending deadlines because of the existing roads and utilities.

The planned development of properties on Bank Foreclosure List is intended for low income residents, families and individuals who are earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the median city income.

With bank foreclosure listings rising every day in Hamilton County and Chattanooga in Tennessee, local officials have decided to expand assistance initiatives provided to distressed homeowners who are facing the threat of losing their homes to foreclosures.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey and Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield have set up a task force to address the growing problem of foreclosure in their areas. The task force is made up of area agencies that will develop new strategies to help troubled homeowners who are on the brink of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Members of the task force have partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regional office to offer a housing fair that will provide resources for struggling homeowners facing foreclosure.

Industry experts said that there are many assistance programs that can help low and middle-income homeowners save their properties from bank foreclosure listings. However, many distressed homeowners hesitate to seek help until it is too late.

One of the assistance programs is the Chattanooga Foreclosure Prevention Hotline launched by the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprises (CNE), a nonprofit organization that helps distressed families purchase or renovate their homes.

David Johnson, CNE president, said that the task force and the hotline should help more struggling homeowners avoid the foreclosure process. He pointed out the need to educate distressed homeowners on the importance of responding immediately to the threat of foreclosure.

Meanwhile, Littlefield said that nonprofit agencies are offering local services to distressed homeowners. He urged them to avoid companies offering foreclosure prevention services for a fee.

On the other hand, real estate experts are concerned that with some foreclosure moratoriums coming to an end and the rise of unemployment rate, the number of properties on bank foreclosure listings will continue to increase.

In Hamilton County, 669 properties were on foreclosure in the first six months of 2009, representing a 3.2 percent increase compared with the first half of the previous year. In May, one in every 800 homeowners in the county received a notice of foreclosure.

Industry experts take solace on the data that the number of properties on local bank foreclosure listings is less than 50 percent of the national average of one in every 389 housing units.

Three bills were signed by Governor Jodi Rell to help distressed homeowners in Connecticut save their properties from bank owned homes sale. In a statement, Rell said that a growing number of families in Connecticut are struggling to pay their bills and mortgages.

Help is on its way to Appleton neighborhoods blighted by bank owned homes foreclosures. Four agencies in Fox Valley are planning to purchase and rehabilitate several foreclosure properties using the affordable housing grant amounting to $1.2 million.

Bank owned homes sales are everywhere in Florida, pulling down home values and becoming blights to neighborhoods. In Collier County, the number of foreclosure properties is steadily increasing with no sign of letting up. And so are efforts to help distressed homeowners save their properties from bank owned homes sales.

A new strategy will be adopted by officials of the city of Richmond in California as part of their proactive stance in preventing bank owned foreclosures from becoming blights in neighborhoods.

Volusia County and several cities, including Palm Coast, Daytona Beach and Deltona are given 18 months to spend the funds they received in March to purchase Bank Foreclosure Properties.

Distressed homeowners in Washington who are facing the possibility of losing their homes to foreclosures may now have more access to lawyers who can help them protect their properties from bank foreclosure list for free.

Fifth Third Bank and Kevin Azzouz, developer of the Veranda Park building located in Orlando, Florida, was ordered by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Karen Jenneman to find solutions to save the 55-unit property from bank forclosure listings.