December 21, 2017
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a new publication aimed at helping home owners avoid foreclosure and fraud.
According to a press release on the HUD official site, the Homeowners Guide to Success is part of a “public-private partnership between federal agencies and industry partners. The guide provides homeowners with information on the critical first steps to take if they are at risk of missing a mortgage payment or facing foreclosure.”
Foreclosure avoidance is an important issue, and with 2017’s natural disasters in Texas, Puerto Rico, Florida, and elsewhere, there is an emphasis not just on borrowers taking steps to keep their homes, but also to become more aware about the potential for fraud and scams aimed at those who struggle to keep up with mortgage payments.
“Steering consumers away from fraudulent schemes is especially important when they are already facing the difficult situation of not being able to make their mortgage payment”.
That’s according to Sarah Gerecke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Housing Counseling at HUD, who is quoted in the press release, which adds that HUD-approved housing counselors are an important part of learning how to avoid FHA home loan default and/or foreclosure.
“As families recover from the recent hurricanes and are more likely to be targeted by scams, a HUD-approved housing counselor can assist them through the process of purchasing or keeping a home.”:
Independent research shows that borrowers working with a HUD-approved housing counseling agency are more likely to avoid foreclosure than borrowers who do not seek housing counseling.”
Borrowers who may be having trouble keeping up with FHA home loan or refinance loan payments should contact their lenders as soon as possible to get as many foreclosure prevention options as possible. The longer borrowers wait to act, the fewer resources they may have.
You can download the new Homeowner’s Guide To Success via the FHA/HUD official site. The guide is also scheduled to become available from HUD partners including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, the Treasury Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and participating housing counseling agencies.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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