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| NeighborWorks Organizations Apply for $938 Million to Stabilize Communities |
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Forty-eight NeighborWorks organizations, along with their local and regional partners have applied for $938 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds. More than eight million homes are expected to enter into foreclosure through 2012, which means millions of homes are likely to be left vacant and abandoned, deteriorating neighborhoods and destabilizing communities.
“The nation is faced with rapid downward pressure on neighborhoods that is unlike anything we have seen in generations," said Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America. "The crisis has not only affected our housing market, but our entire economy, and requires a response as intense and comprehensive as the challenge itself.” Learn more about this effort.
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| NeighborWorks' Marietta Rodriguez Calls for Servicers to Compensate Counselors |
NeighborWorks America's Marietta Rodriguez, director for Homeownership and Lending, recently told National Public Radio's Marketplace program, what she thought mortgage servicers should be doing better to help families stay in their homes.
Rodriguez outlined some basic improvements that servicers need to make such as increasing communication with the borrower and the counselor working with them, as well as more standardization. She noted that forms to process a loan modification are lost by servicers and that the homeowner, already under stress, has to fill the documents out multiple times in some cases. That fact is illustrated by reports from counselors who are part of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program. See also CNNMoney.com's recent report on "Five Dumb Reasons You Can't Get Mortgage Help."
According to Rodriguez, counselors are working very hard to get troubled borrowers to work with their servicers and that work is making the servicer's job easier. In comments edited out of the Marketplace interview, Rodriguez said that the servicing industry needs to begin compensating counselors for this work that is saving the mortgage industry time and money.
"Counselors provide a real, tangible benefit to servicers just like any other professional like lawyers and title companies. Counselors should be compensated for this work."
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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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| African Americans and Hispanics Are Among Homeowners Hardest Hit by the Foreclosure Crisis |
| Of the more than 363,000 homeowners who received foreclosure prevention counseling under the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program, 53 percent were minority homeowners, or more than twice the overall percent of minority homeowners. The data reported in the NeighborWorks America report to Congress showed that 28 percent of NMFC program clients were African American homeowners, more than three times their representation of total homeowners. Hispanic homeowners made up 21 percent of NFMC clients, nearly twice their representation of total homeowners. The report also showed that Hispanic clients were the only group of homeowners more likely to hold adjustable rate mortgages than fixed-rate mortgages. |
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| Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Grassroots Group Seeks Small Gifts to End Local Foreclosures |
| A grassroots organization in Rock County, Wisconsin, has come up with a novel way to fight foreclosures in the area. The organization, called the John Doe Movement, is asking every Rock County homeowner to donate $10 a month to help tackle skyrocketing foreclosure rates and stabilize home values. The “Rescue America Project,” recently featured in the Janesville Gazette, aims to generate $10 million by the end of 2010. The money would be collected by the Beloit-based Stateline Community Foundation and directed to Neighborhood Housing Services in Beloit, Inc., a NeighborWorks organization, to help homeowners facing foreclosure modify the terms of their mortgage. |
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| In Tough Times, Demand for Outcome Measurement is Growing |
| Community development organizations and their funders invest significant resources to prepare low- to moderate-income families for sustainable homeownership and to build stronger communities. But how do these organizations know that they are meeting their ultimate goals? How can their funders be assured that their investments are generating long-term impact? In these tough economic times it is more important than ever to answer these questions. Learn how NeighborWorks' Success Measures is meeting nonprofits' need for outcome measurement. |
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| Servicers Commit to Faster Relief for Struggling Homeowners Through Loan Modifications |
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Government officials met recently with top executives from servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable loan modification program to discuss ways to improve effectiveness and efficiency of the program. "With over 200,000 trial loan modifications already under way, we are on track to meet our goals," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in a July 28 news release. "Still, too many homeowners are at risk of foreclosure right now. Today's meeting was an opportunity to identify ways to accelerate the program and bring relief faster." Servicers in attendance reportedly committed to significantly increasing the rate at which they are performing loan modifications, and are on board to meeting the Obama Administration's goal of reaching half a million trial modifications begun by November 1, 2009.
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| In Memoriam: Elizabeth Flores Burkhart |
| NeighborWorks America is sad to announce that former board member and National Credit Union Administration Vice Chairman Elizabeth Flores Burkhart passed away on July 23, at age 74. CEO Ken Wade said this about her: "NeighborWorks America will always be indebted to Elizabeth Burkhart for the many contributions she made in leading the corporation, particularly through a transition in executive leadership upon the departure of our founding director Bill Whiteside. Elizabeth Burkhart was truly a dedicated public servant who, based upon her own life experiences, saw the potential that exists in every person and every community." Learn more. |
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| Loans for Human Service Agencies |
| The Kresge Foundation has created the Community Relief Fund to help Human Service agencies responding to economic crisis. The 24- to 36-month, interest-free program-related investment fund will offer bridge loans of $250,000 to $500,000 each to high-performance human service organizations to help them to better meet increasing demands for food, shelter, and other emergency services. Homeless and domestic-violence shelters, safety-net providers, affordable housing and supportive services, legal aid services, emergency assistance providers, and multi-service health and human service organizations are encouraged to apply. |
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| Follow NeighborWorks Social Media Symposium Live Online! |
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Join us in Chicago on August 19 for the NeighborWorks' symposium, Social Media and Web 2.0: Engaging Community and Achieving Mission in person or you can follow the discussion online live!
Follow us on Twitter
You can join an online dialogue before, during and after the symposium by following these simple steps:
- Sign up for Twitter. It just takes a minute and its free.
- Follow neighborworks
- You can text your tweets directly from your mobile phone by going to Devices under Settings and adding your mobile phone.
- Include the hashtag #nti in your tweets.
Even if you don’t sign up for Twitter, you can still follow the dialogue by going to http://search.twitter.com/ and entering #nti. Using this hashtag will bring up the real time tweets related to the social media symposium.
Live blog
You can also follow key highlights and discussions from the symposium by checking the Social Media Symposium Blog on Wednesday. A couple of crafty folks will blog live from some of the symposium sessions.
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| New Community Stabilization and Asset Management Courses Available |
| NeighborWorks is pleased to announce the release of two new e-learning courses! AH295el, Community Stabilization: An Introduction to REO Acquisition, Rehab, Disposition and Management and AM121el Fundamentals of Asset Management are both now available online through NeighborWorks' e-learning modules. Both of these courses bring the materials from the NeighborWorks Training Institute courses to your computer so you can learn and work toward certification from the convenience of your office or home. Learn more about these and the many other e-learning opportunities from NeighborWorks at our e-learning Web site |
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| New Consumer Videos for Homeowners and Prospective Buyers Available |
| These are trying times for homeowners and those thinking about buying a home may wonder if it’s worth the risk. Three new videos from NeighborWorks America provide homeowners and first-time buyers with useful advice for weathering the current environment. “What to Do When Facing Foreclosure” is for homeowners on the brink of losing their homes. “How to Avoid Foreclosure,” is geared toward homeowners who are making their mortgage payments on time, but want to be proactive in ensuring they keep their homes if hard times hit. “Is This a Good Time to Buy a Home?” is for consumers who want to buy a home for the first time but may not be aware of the strong incentives to do so now. NeighborWorks America’s Senior Homeownership Specialist Milt Sharp provides the advice in these videos, which are all available on NeighborWorks YouTube channel. |
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| NeighborWorks Webinar on Planning and Implementing an REO Program |
| The current economic climate has drawn attention to the issue of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties, with tens of thousands of foreclosed properties appearing in our communities. In addition to a growing number of courses focused on the acquisition, management and sale of REO properties, as well as classes on stabilizing neighborhoods and helping prospective homeowners purchase foreclosed properties, NeighborWorks America is pleased to offer a free, half-hour webinar that guides boards, executive directors and other key decision-makers in planning and implementing a REO program. Please note that there is a link at the end for a printed copy with speaker's notes. |
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| Exercising Sovereignty and Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Tribal Land Management |
| The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Policy Research Center, through a joint project with First Nations Development Institute, and funded by NeighborWorks America and Stewart Title, recently released a report titled, Exercising Sovereignty and Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Tribal Land Management. The new report provides first-of-its-kind analysis of the experience of tribes seeking to expedite the processing of land title on Indian lands including an examination of the significant obstacles to homeownership strategies for Native communities, the experiences of five tribes that are managing aspects of the land title process in their communities, findings from a site visit and in-depth interview at Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices, and conclusions and specific recommendations about the future of land title processing on Indian lands. |
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