Carson City, NV -
April 28, 2015
The Nevada
Housing Division has received a federal grant of $156,210 to support ongoing
foreclosure prevention counseling efforts. The funds, awarded by the National
Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, will be re-allocated to pre-approved
statewide nonprofit housing counseling agencies in order to continue providing
one-on-one counseling and assistance to Nevada homeowners in danger of
foreclosure.
Ranking
second in the nation for rate of foreclosures behind only Florida, many
Nevadans are still struggling to make their payments and face imminent
foreclosure or default. And despite
improvement in median housing prices, a recent report by real estate research
firm RealtyTrac ranks the Las Vegas Valley number two for its share of
underwater homes with 28.4 percent of homeowners owing at least 25 percent more
than the property is worth.
Since the
inception of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program in
2008, NHD has received more than $2.2 million in funds to assist distressed
homeowners throughout the state. To
date, approximately 6,414 Nevada homeowners have received counseling under the
program. The latest round of funding is
estimated to provide counseling and assistance to an additional 565 homeowners.
A recent NeighborWorks America study prepared
by the Urban Institute looked at the effectiveness of the NFMC program and
found that homeowners who work with NFMC counselors were nearly twice as likely
to cure a serious delinquency or foreclosure, and nearly three times as likely
to receive a modification cure.
“
The
Nevada Housing Division understands the importance of homebuyer counseling and
its direct impact on home retention and in promoting responsible
homeownership,”
said Sharath Chandra, NHD Deputy Administrator. “This grant will help continue the important
work NHD is doing through our partner counseling agencies by helping and
advocating on behalf of Nevadans as they navigate one of the greatest housing
crises of our times
.”
To find a list of the Nevada housing counseling
agencies providing foreclosure mitigation assistance under the NFMC program,
please visit http://housing.nv.gov.
About NHD
Created by the Nevada Legislature in
1975, the Nevada Housing Division was created to encourage the investment of
private capital and stimulate the financing of affordable housing through the
use of public financing to provide mortgage loans and to make loans to and
purchase mortgage loans from mortgage lenders, and to perform any other
function authorized by NRS 319. The
Division provides low interest rate mortgages and down payment assistance to
qualifying individuals and provides funding for affordable multi-family housing
developments for seniors and families.
In addition, the Division oversees the Hardest Hit Fund, which assists
homeowners at risk of default or foreclosure.
###