z***y
发帖数: 79 | 1 http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2010/10/06/us_offers_mortgage_aid_to_the_jobless/
US offers mortgage aid to the jobless
Mass. homeowners could get $50,000; Some loans may not have to be repaid
By Jenifer B. McKim
Globe Staff / October 6, 2010
Unemployed homeowners may be able to borrow up to $50,000 to help them make
monthly mortgage payments — and in some cases not have to pay the money
back — under a federal program unveiled yesterday that allocates $61
million to Massachusetts.
The zero-interest loan program will benefit several thousand homeowners in
the state who are facing foreclosure because they lost their jobs and have
depleted their savings. Nationwide, about $1 billion is being allocated to
assist 50,000 homeowners struggling to keep up with their mortgages, said
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Countless people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own
temporarily lack the steady income they need to pay their mortgage,’’
Donovan said during a news conference at Urban Edge Community Development
Corp. in Roxbury. Nonprofit community groups such as Urban Edge will be
involved in administering the program.
“We can fight foreclosures and unemployment and we can help our communities
recover,’’ he said.
Long-term unemployment is now considered a primary reason for the escalating
number of foreclosures in the United States.
The federal effort, called the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program, supplements
a $7.6 billion campaign the US Treasury Department launched earlier this
year to help out-of-work homeowners in 18 states, and the District of
Columbia, that were hardest hit by the recession. The Treasury program also
is aimed at homeowners whose mortgages are underwater, meaning they owe more
than what their properties are worth.
The new HUD program announced yesterday expands assistance to the remaining
32 states, as well as Puerto Rico.
US Representative Barney Frank, who attended the news conference yesterday,
said unemployed homeowners are innocent victims of the country’s
foreclosure crisis.
Frank, a Newton Democrat, said he lobbied to get a $2 billion loan allotment
for jobless homeowners included in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation
overhaul Congress passed last summer, but the amount was later reduced to $1
billion. He said he hopes to increase funding for the program eventually.
“These are not people who made imprudent decisions,’’ Frank said. “These
are people who made good mortgages. They made responsible decisions.’’
In some cases, the government loan could actually turn into a gift,
officials said. Under the program, as much as $50,000 can be borrowed over
two years, depending on the applicant’s qualifications. Borrowers who
remain in their homes and stay current on mortgage payments for five years
after that will not have to pay back all of the money; for those borrowers,
the government will reduce their loan balance by 20 percent annually until
it is eliminated, according to HUD.
The news of the mortgage-loan funding for Massachusetts was lauded by local
housing advocates who have pressed the government to assist unemployed
homeowners. The state’s unemployment rate is 8.8 percent, compared with 9.6
percent nationally.
During the first eight months of the year, 9,887 Massachusetts homeowners
lost their properties to foreclosure, surpassing the 9,269 recorded during
all of last year, according to Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks
local real estate.
“These homeowners face unemployment largely due to the recession that was
largely caused by speculation by big banks and Wall Street investment
companies,’’ said Lew Finfer, executive director of the nonprofit
Massachusetts Community Action Network. “Preventing foreclosures helps
homeowners, helps lessen neighborhood deterioration and declining property
values.’’
To qualify for a loan, borrowers must show their income is no higher than
120 percent of the Boston area’s median income, or $110,150 for a family of
four. They are also required to provide documentation proving that their
income has dropped at least 15 percent and that they are at least three
months behind on mortgage payments.
Borrowers also must have a “reasonable likelihood of being able to resume’
’ paying their mortgage after two years by proving they did not have a high
amount of debt before they became unemployed.
Yesterday’s announcement was made as Massachusetts’ attorney general,
Martha Coakley, urged four of the nation’s largest lenders — GMAC Mortgage
, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America Corp.— to cease
foreclosures in Massachusetts until they can prove that their paperwork is
accurate. Last week, Bank of America became the latest national lender to
say that it will temporarily halt foreclosure proceedings in 23 states that
require a judge to sign off on bank seizures. Massachusetts does not require
court approval for foreclosures.
At the Roxbury event, Donovan said federal regulat | A**U
发帖数: 1116 | | m***y
发帖数: 14763 | 3 To qualify for a loan, borrowers must show their income is no higher than
120 percent of the Boston area’s median income, or $110,150 for a family of
four. They are also required to provide documentation proving that their
income has dropped at least 15 percent and that they are at least three
months behind on mortgage payments.
Damned are those who are working harder to keep their jobs and never missed
payments! | i****a
发帖数: 36252 | 4 oh... I need to buy a house and quit my job! |
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