Ken Wade, NeighborWorks America CEO, and Marietta Rodriguez, director of NeighborWorks National Homeownership Programs, participated in President Bush’s press briefing held in early December to announce the deal to freeze interest rates for some subprime mortgages that are scheduled to rise in the coming months.

“We are proud to be part of the efforts to prevent foreclosures, joining with the Departments of the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development and the industry to assist financially distressed families,” Wade said about efforts to address the foreclosure crisis.

Following the White House briefing, NeighborWorks issued a statement in support of efforts to combat foreclosure and stressed the importance of housing counseling in helping struggling homeowners. See statement

NeighborWorks has announced that it trained more than 200 homeownership counselors in foreclosure intervention counseling during its recent NeighborWorks Training Institute in Portland, Oregon — the most counselors ever trained in foreclosure at an Institute. NeighborWorks America has trained more than 3,300 foreclosure counselors in the plast four years. In 2008, NeighborWorks expects to award 2,800 professional certificates to foreclosure counselors.
View the release.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Oakland to announce the launching of a pilot project to help home-owners hit hard by the nation's subprime lending and home foreclosure crisis.

Sherry Powers, who manages the homeowner center for the Unity Council, said that in connection with the OneCalifornia pilot project, the council would provide foreclosure prevention workshops for homeowners. “Many of these homeowners did not have any financial counseling prior to buying their homes,” Powers said, saying this was one of the reasons homeowners were lured into mortgages that they could not afford.

View article in Berkley Daily Planet
Governor Comes to Oakland to Boost Foreclosure Project

The Federal Reserve proposed new rules to restrict high-risk mortgage lending practices that are geared primarily to people with weak credit. The new regulations would prohibit lenders from extending credit without considering borrowers’ ability to repay the loan, including verifying income or assets. Prepayment penalties, which can discourage subprime mortgage holders from refinancing their loans, would be restricted to only certain conditions, and lenders would have to establish escrow accounts for payment of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The proposal, which has a 30-day period for public comment, would also curtail a number of deceptive advertising practices. 
View the Federal Reserve announcement.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the opening of the sixth round of competition for tax credits on $3.5 billion of equity investments under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. The NMTC program attracts private-sector capital investment into the nation's urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. To date, the program has awarded tax credits on $12.1 billion in equity investments.

“I am very impressed with how this program is making significant impact in low-income communities across the nation,” said CDFI Fund Director Donna Gambrell. “Capital is being raised and invested into projects many thought of as just a dream — from critically needed community facilities and charter schools to grocery stores and other businesses.” 

View release | View application materials

The Case Foundation has partnered with Parade Magazine to launch America’s Giving Challenge. Through this campaign, the Foundation will award $500,000 to those nonprofits that inspire the most people to give $10 or more to their cause through online technology. More than 150 grants will be awarded, including several $50,000 prizes. The campaign ends January 31, 2008. Learn more about the challenge at http://www.parade.com/givingchallenge.

Join us in Atlanta, Georgia where we will offer more than 100 courses in green building, affordable housing, homeownership education, community building, neighborhood revitalization, management and leadership, and much more.  View our complete online course grid for course offering and details.

Don’t forget to also sign up for the symposium on February 27 — Go Green Now: Embracing Energy Efficiency, Healthy Housing and Green Building. The symposium will offer a comprehensive introduction to the green building movement, which is quickly going mainstream in the affordable housing and community development industry. Participants will explore a wide range of topics related to sustainability and discuss how they apply to housing rehabilitation, rental housing development and management, community and economic development, and homeownership.

Learn more or register for the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta, Georgia at www.nw.org/training. Register by January 14 and receive $50 off your registration fee.

NeighborWorks America's Achieving Excellence Program is looking for the next group of inspired individuals to lead their organizations and communities into performance-driven change. Approximately 50 experienced leaders from community development organizations will be selected to participate in this highly innovative and challenging program, sponsored by Fannie Mae and created in collaboration with Harvard University. Visit www.nw.org/ae to learn more and to apply.
Accepting applications until January 28, 2008

Over the past few months, the National Advisory Council has been actively promoting adoption of the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling at various events and meeting activities. For anyone not familiar with the National Industry Standards, these guidelines represent a baseline measurement for what stands as quality homeownership education and counseling. Nationwide support and adoption of these standards will spearhead stability industry-wide in how homeownership training and counseling services are provided.

With the growing rate of home foreclosures, now more than ever, organizations will need to have a standard of reference to ensure that consistent and qualified service is provided to those in most need of homeownership services. We encourage all industry partners to demonstrate their commitment to the National Industry Standards by signing up to adopt.

To date, over 50 organizations have listed their endorsement. To learn more about the National Industry Standards and how your organization can adopt them visit, www.homeownershipstandards.com.

Freddie Mac is hoping YouTube can help prevent troubled borrowers from losing their homes, or at least help them preserve their equity. The company has produced a two-minute video and posted it on the popular Internet site. The company said it wanted to try a different way to reach homeowners

Freddie Mac developed the idea after a survey found that one in four delinquent borrowers searches the Internet before contacting his bank or lender to find out how to avoid losing his home.

View Washington Post article

View Video

NeighborWorks America offers manuals and guides for consumers and practitioners focused on homebuyer education, homebuyer training, and homeownership maintenance. Realizing the American Dream and Keeping the American Dream are two different manuals developed by industry experts. The former covers all aspects of the homeownership process and the latter focuses on maintaining homeownership status.

Another resource, the Consumer Home Buying Guides, is a set of four manuals, available in a variety of languages, which focus on the various stages of the home buying process. Developed by Fannie Mae Foundation, they deliver practical, specific and concise information in a user-friendly format. Nonprofit and NeighborWorks organizations are eligible for a large number of complimentary Consumer Home Buying Guides in any combination of languages or titles.