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NFMC Reaches More Than
One Million Homeowners
More than one million homeowners in danger of losing their homes have received counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program, which is funded by Congress and administered by NeighborWorks America. According to NFMC Program findings, this counseling works. Homeowners who received counseling through the program were 60 percent more likely to avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. Clients were also more likely to receive a loan modification than homeowners facing foreclosure who did not receive counseling. More on this is in the NeighborWorks newsroom. Additional coverage can be viewed online at CBS and DSNews.
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| NeighborWorks America's Marietta Rodriguez Discusses Unemployment's Impact on Foreclosures |
| In an interview with NPR on August 12, NeighborWorks Homeownership and Lending Director Marietta Rodriguez said that lack of employment is a major problem driving many homeowners over the edge to foreclosure. “On the ground, our counselors are telling us they're seeing more and more consumers, more and more borrowers seeking help — that their numbers are not decreasing," said Rodriguez. She was responding to RealtyTrac findings that while foreclosure ticked up 4 percent in July, foreclosure activity was actually down 10 percent from last year. In the interview with NPR, Rodriguez warned against "breathing a sigh of relief" too quickly. |
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| NPR Report: Affordable Housing Dwindles as Need Grows; Opportunities in Foreclosed Properties |
| Funding for low-income housing has been falling for years. And nationwide, many public housing units have been torn down, while the wait for housing vouchers can now last as long as a decade. On a recent NPR program, affordable housing advocates discussed the desperate need for affordable housing, particularly rentals. They also emphasized the "opportunity" that the foreclosure crisis has created for developers to purchase abandoned and foreclosed homes and resell them as affordable housing. Listen to this story on NPR. Here's also a great example of how a NeighborWorks affiliate, Mutual Housing Association in Connecticut, is creating new affordable housing opportunities in the wake of foreclosure. |
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| NeighborWorks Advises Consumers: Don't Let Rising Credit Card Interest Rates Lead to a Financial Fall |
| Interest rates on mortgages are at record low levels, but the interest rate on another staple of consumer credit — credit cards — have not come down alongside. That’s the news from The Wall Street Journal recently, which reported that credit card interest rates are at the highest relative level in more than 20 years. The average consumer who carries a balance on a credit card is paying nearly 15 percent interest, more than three times the cost today of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan. Here’s some advice that NeighborWorks organizations that offer financial literacy and capability training are telling their customers about the wise use of credit cards. |
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| Community Strategies represent the shared experience of NeighborWorks America and its member organizations in various topics of community development and affordable housing. |
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| The
NeighborWorks Training
Institute is dedicated to providing the highest quality training
for community development practitioners. Learn about the latest
classes and symposia on leading-edge topics. |
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| Fighting Loan Modification Scams on Bikes |
| Volunteers took to the streets of Southeast Queens recently to help New York City officials crack down on scammers who prey on victims of the foreclosure crisis. The city Department of Consumer Affairs, partnering with NeighborWorks America, enlisted the volunteers to bike through South Jamaica to find and report deceptive foreclosure prevention ads posted in the neighborhood. They also
passed out flyers to anyone with questions about obtaining foreclosure help. Read about it in the Queens Tribune. View photos on Flickr. |
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| NeighborWorks Network Helps Residents Start and Develop Community Gardens |
| NeighborWorks America announced its support for the 2010 National Farmers Market Directory recently released by the United States Department of Agriculture. The 2010 National Farmers Market Directory lists 6,132 operational farmers markets in the United States, which is a 16 percent increase since 2009. NeighborWorks America and its affiliates are taking part in this trend of transforming vacant and abandoned lots into community gardens and farmers markets. More on this is in the NeighborWorks news blog. |
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| NeighborWorks of Western Vermont Awarded $4.5 Million to Improve Energy Efficiency |
| Congratulations to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, who was recently awarded $4.5 million through the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program that aims to reduce energy use by homes, vehicles and businesses. With local partners, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont will offer energy efficiency audits to determine improvements that can be made to a home, and then manage the construction of the improvements. They will help homeowners pay for the improvements through a combination of cash rebates and loans. |
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| NW.ORG Gets a Facelift |
Nw.org has a fresh look! Please check it out and let us know your thoughts.
This “makeover” creates a simpler, cleaner front page for nw.org and provides easy-to-navigate gateways for nonprofit housing practitioners, our private-sector partners and consumers seeking information on their homes and communities. This information for consumers also is available in four languages — Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese — allowing us to serve the needs of more people in our communities. In the remaining months of 2010 and throughout 2011, we will bring additional pages into the new look. |
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FHA, HUD Announce Additional Support For Targeted Foreclosure-Prevention Programs
To Help Homeowners Struggling with Unemployment |
| The Obama Administration recently announced additional support to help homeowners struggling with unemployment through two targeted foreclosure-prevention programs. Through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available for HFA programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon launch a complementary $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program to provide assistance – for up to 24 months – to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure and have experienced a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition. More information is available here. |
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| Ameriprise Financial Accepting Applications for Community Relations Grants Program Deadline, September 1, 2010 |
| Ameriprise Financial, Inc., a diversified financial services company, is accepting grant applications for the third cycle of its 2010 Community Relations grantmaking program. Ameriprise provides grants to nonprofit organizations in communities across the United States where its employees, advisors, and retirees live and work. The company prefers to direct funding to specific projects that can demonstrate innovative approaches with measurable results or capacity building rather than general operating support. Awards are given in three areas:
meeting basic needs, supporting community vitality, and volunteer-driven causes.
Visit the Ameriprise Financial Website for complete program information and application criteria. |
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TD Charitable Foundation Offers Grants to Support Capital Improvements
for Affordable Housing; Deadline, September 3, 2010 |
| The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, has announced that it will award $1.7 million in grants through its fifth annual Housing for Everyone grant competition to support affordable housing initiatives from Maine to Florida.
The foundation will award 34 grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 each to eligible housing nonprofit organizations that submit compelling proposals.
Find out how to apply. |
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Registration for the National Harbor, MD/Washington, DC, Training Institute
Now Open |
| Registration for the National Harbor, MD/Washington, DC Training Institute is now available. Register online today to reserve your seats! The National Harbor Training Institute is sure to inspire you as you take part in some of the many courses being offered. Check out the Homeownership Symposium, The Mind of the Homebuyer: How Consumers Decide and Act. Come together with your peers and others around the country to tackle your community challenges, re-energize your commitment to progress and share best practices in a place where the nation comes together to work toward better communities and a better country. Register online today! |
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| Homeownership Symposium Focuses on Consumer Behavior |
| The Homeownership Symposium, The Mind of the Homebuyer: How Consumers Decide and Act will explore how consumer actions toward home buying have changed in the current economic environment, the key factors that may now control their purchase decision, and why understanding what really causes behavior change is important in designing and marketing homeownership programs. Register online today! |
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| New E-learning Course for Foreclosure Intervention Counselors |
| From the convenience of your home or office computer, gain practical instruction on how to begin implementing improvements based on effective foreclosure intervention practices. This course is intended for executive directors, foreclosure program directors, counseling supervisors, and experienced certified foreclosure intervention counselors. Learn more about HO322el and register online today. |
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| Reclaiming Vacant Properties 2010 Conference |
| Registration is now open for Reclaiming Vacant Properties: the Intersection of Sustainability, Revitalization and Policy Reform, in Cleveland, Ohio, October 13-15.
Learn about the policies, tools, and strategies to reclaim vacant and abandoned properties and catalyze long-term, sustainable neighborhood revitalization. The conference is sponsored by
the Center for Community Progress with its principal planning partner, Neighborhood Progress, Inc. |
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| Financial Services Roundtable Launches New Personal Finance Website |
| MyMoneyManagement.net offers consumers tools and information from financial services companies, as well as resources on financial counseling and financial education programs. The website features financial calculators, personal finance news and links to financial literacy resources. The site was launched by The Financial Services Roundtable, which represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies providing banking, insurance, and investment products and services. |
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