 "Too many people are losing the homes they've worked so hard to buy.
This grant will allow us to help hundreds of people across the state
get the advice they need to avoid seeing their dreams of
homeownership destroyed," said Blagojevich.The
Illinois
Housing Development Authority will allocate the grant from the
State Affordable Housing Trust Fund to the Neighborhood Housing
Services of Chicago Inc., a nonprofit housing, counseling and
lending organization that leverages investment to revitalize Chicago
neighborhoods. NHS of Chicago will identify a network of nonprofit
agencies across the state to receive training and certification in
foreclosure prevention and intervention.
IHDA's financial support will be used to compensate the network
agencies for their one-on-one foreclosure prevention counseling work
with homeowners. The proposed payment structure is $100 per client
and $1,500 per positive result. Positive results include successful
forbearance, refinance or restructure of a loan, agreement for a
repayment plan or reinstatement of the mortgage, sale of the home,
short sale, or deed in lieu of foreclosure. The IHDA grant will also
be used to hire a program coordinator to organize and manage the
network of agencies and to support outreach to the community. Two
national community development groups, Neighborworks America and the
HP Foundation, have also contributed $150,000 to build and support
the statewide network.
Housing Action Illinois, a nonprofit organization that provides
technical assistance to nonprofit housing developers and housing
counseling agencies, will provide the training. The network of
agencies will learn, among others, negotiating skills for dealing
with lenders and servicers, up-to-date information on resources such
as loans and grants available to help homeowners at risk of
foreclosure, and the alternatives available to halt foreclosures.
The training will build the capacity of the nonprofit groups in the
area of foreclosure, and the network will use this training to take
homeowners through one-on-one counseling and direct negotiations
with lenders.
More than 10 agencies located in areas such as Cook, Winnebago,
Rock Island, Peoria, McLean, Champaign and St. Clair counties have
already expressed interest in participating in the program.
Illinois homeowners can call a national toll-free line,
1-800-995-HOPE, sponsored by Neighborworks America and the HP
Foundation, and will be referred to a network agency for one-on-one
foreclosure prevention counseling. Homeowners in Illinois will learn
about the toll-free number through a series of upcoming newspaper
and television advertisements. (Center
for Foreclosure Solutions)
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"The country's increasing foreclosure rate is a very serious and
complex issue. Governor Blagojevich understands the value of state
agencies, local housing groups and national community development
organizations working together to help homeowners get through the
foreclosure crisis," said DeShana L. Forney, IHDA executive
director. "Many homeowners facing foreclosure often delay seeking
help because they are scared. We believe the one-on-one counseling
approach will be effective because each case is different, and it
will enable homeowners to get assistance to suit their financial
needs."
The current foreclosure crisis is expected to continue through
the next two years as many of the high-cost loans originated in
recent years put homeowners in unaffordable positions, as adjustable
rate mortgage products continue to reset, and as the consequences of
loans made with little or no supporting documentation become
evident. More and more homeowners will not be able to avoid
foreclosure by refinancing into a new subprime loan, because
declining home values and more restrictive underwriting on new loans
will make it more difficult to obtain financing. Instead, a more
effective alternative is to help homeowners identify ways to save
their homes through strategies that keep the payments affordable.
"NHS of Chicago has already worked extensively in the area of
foreclosure prevention through our Home Ownership Preservation
Initiative. This grant from Governor Blagojevich and IHDA will allow
us to build on our success by developing and supporting a network of
other nonprofit counseling agencies across the state that will
result in approximately 1,000 homeowners receiving counseling, and
help avoid an estimated 250 foreclosures over the next two years,"
said Jim Wheaton, NHS deputy director of programs and strategies.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information
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