Housing

Legislation is Backed by Entire NC Delegation

March 11, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) this morning introduced a bill to give states the flexibility to exempt nonprofit housing organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, from costly regulatory requirements. The Nonprofit Mortgage Licensing Clarification Act of 2010 is a companion to the House bill H.R. 4400, introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC). Both bills have bipartisan support, and every member of the N.C. Congressional Delegation has joined as a co-sponsor.    » read more »

March 5, 2010 -- BURLINGTON, Vt., March 5 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today announced that he secured a $380,000 federal grant for a Vergennes senior housing project.

The Vergennes project will fill a critically important need in Addison County and provide seniors in the region quality and affordable independent living space.

“We face a serious housing crisis in Vermont and throughout the country,” Sanders said. “The crisis is particularly acute for many of our seniors and people that are on fixed incomes,” he added.

The grant is in addition to $24,205 in federal support Sanders secured for the Vergennes Senior Center.    » read more »

Columbus Homeowner Seeking to Avoid Foreclosure Joins Brown as He Calls for Improvements to Mortgage Modification Program

March 5, 2010 -- COLUMBUS, OHIO - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited Columbus Housing Partnership's housing advisory center today to outline the need for additional federal foreclosure funds for Ohio.

Brown outlined his efforts to bring more foreclosure assistance to Ohio - including efforts to improve the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and ensure that Ohio is included in future awards from the Help for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets (4HM) program.    » read more »

Budget Focuses On Fiscal Discipline, Investing In People And Places

February 1, 2010 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today unveiled the Department’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposal, following President Barack Obama’s presentation of his Administration-wide budget. The HUD budget focuses on fiscal discipline, creating jobs and builds on the administration’s first year accomplishments by proposing reform in HUD’s housing and community development programs to make them more streamlined, efficient, and accountable.    » read more »

Budget Makes Smart Investments, Protects the Health and Safety of America’s Families

February 1, 2010 -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today highlighted critical investments in President Obama’s 2011 HHS budget that will protect the health and safety of America’s families.    » read more »

Administration Updates Documentation Collection Process and Releases Guidance to Expedite Permanent Modifications

January 28, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – As part of the Administration's ongoing housing market stabilization plan, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released updated guidance for servicers participating in the Administration's mortgage modification program. This guidance refines the documentation requirements in order to expedite conversions of current trial modifications to permanent ones.    » read more »

Congressman Rangel Hails Funding for Energy-Efficiency Renovations on 135th Street Multi-Family Housing Project.

January 25, 2010 -- Congressman Charles Rangel was pleased to learn recently that the Obama Administration's first stimulus award for funding "green" apartment renovations will serve Northern Manhattan.

The award-- a $3.6 million federal housing loan to New-York based developer Jonathan Rose Companies-- is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) energy-efficiency renovations program for multifamily housing.    » read more »

January 26, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – Congressman Dennis Cardoza said today he had lost confidence in the top housing official in the Obama Administration, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

The three biggest cities in Congressman Cardoza’s district – Merced, Stockton, and Modesto – have the 3rd, 5th, and 6th highest foreclosure rates in the country, respectively. These cities also rank in the top 6 cities nationwide for unemployment rates.

“After personally coming to my community and pledging support to me and my constituents, HUD developed criteria to provide assistance that overlooked the region that needed the most help. This is absolutely unacceptable and reflects complete incompetence,” said Congressman Cardoza in a letter to Secretary Donovan.    » read more »

Mortgagee Review Board underscores FHA’s stepped up lender enforcement efforts

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today announced that it is immediately and permanently withdrawing the FHA approval of three mortgage lenders and is suspending a fourth.

The MRB withdrew the FHA approval of Strategic Mortgage Corporation (Strategic), ProMortgage Inc., and Americare Investment Group Inc. (doing business as Premier Capital Lending. Additionally, the MRB has suspended the FHA approval of Home Mortgage, Inc. (HMI) of Burr Ridge, Illinois.    » read more »

Lender faulted for gross violations of FHA underwriting standards

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Administration’s Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) today immediately and permanently withdrew the FHA approval of Premium Capital Funding, LLC, a Jericho, New York-based lender doing business as TopDot Mortgage. Today’s action prevents TopDot from participating in FHA programs and seeks a monetary penalty of $674,000.    » read more »

January 19, 2010 -- NEWARK, N.J. – Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced the U.S. Department of the Treasury has awarded the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) more than $49 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to finance the expansion and improvement of affordable housing in New Jersey.

The Recovery Act, which Lautenberg helped author as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, was signed into law by President Obama in February of 2009. Menendez is chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing.    » read more »

01/15/10 -- Washington, DC - Congressman Glenn Nye (VA-02) has long been a strong advocate for aiding families affected by toxic Chinese drywall, and now he will be leading that fight in Washington – as the new Co-Chairman of the Congressional Contaminated Drywall Caucus.

Nye took over the job this week, and he immediately made it clear that he would not accept the same delays and inaction that characterized the federal response to toxic Chinese drywall last year. On Wednesday, Nye sent a letter to the heads of the federal agencies working to investigate the situation, stating that “families struggling with toxic Chinese drywall have waited long enough.” The letter was also signed by Nye's co-chairman on the bipartisan caucus, Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart.    » read more »

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Ron Klein (FL-22) announced a major federal investment in the hard-hit South Florida housing market. Over $160,000,000 in new grants will now be available to help purchase and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned homes in our community.

“This is a tangible, serious investment on a massive scale,” Klein said. “These finds are dedicated to buying up foreclosed properties in South Florida and redeveloping them in order to turn our housing market around. In our area, real estate is such an essential part of our economy, this investment will have a positive impact far beyond the housing market.”    » read more »

Measure to help bring stability to home values and accelerate sale of vacant properties

January 15, 2010 -- WASHINGTON - In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties.

The announcement is part of the Obama administration commitment to addressing foreclosure. Just yesterday, Secretary Donovan announced $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants to local communities and nonprofit housing developers to combat the effects of vacant and abandoned homes.    » read more »

Stabilization grants to help neighborhoods recover from the housing crisis

January 14, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that HUD is awarding $2 billion in Recovery Act funding to states, local governments and non-profit housing developers, under HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), to spur economic development in hard-hit communities and create jobs. Nearly 60 grantees are receiving awards. A full list of grants awarded today can be found on HUD’s Recovery Act website.    » read more »