HUD awards $2.4 million in Housing Counseling Grants to 22 housing counseling organizations in Virginia

Washington, DC – October 14, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Virginia families facing foreclosure, seeking affordable rental housing, or hoping to buy their first home will have a greater opportunity to find housing, or keep the homes they have, because of $2.4 million in housing counseling grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (see attached list).

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial that Americans understand how to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process,and secure their financial future.” said Donovan. “This critical funding will help counseling organizations continue to assist families in making more informed choices before they buy a home and counsel families facing foreclosure.”

Housing counseling grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners and remaining homeowners after their purchase. HUD-approved counseling agencies not only provide homeownership counseling, but also offer financial literacy training to renters and homeless individuals and families.

The funding announced today is part of $60 million in housing counseling grants awarded nationwide. These grants will support the direct provision of housing counseling services by 24 national and regional organizations, 5 multi-state organizations, and 463 state and local housing counseling agencies. In addition, HUD is awarding $5 million to three national organizations to train approximately 4,400 counselors who will receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist families with their housing needs.

National and regional agencies distribute much of HUD’s housing counseling grant funding to community-based grassroots organizations that provide advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking to improve their housing conditions. In addition, these larger organizations help improve the quality of housing counseling services and enhance coordination among other counseling providers.

Counseling agencies will use $8 million to help assist senior citizens seeking reverse mortgages or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). These agencies will provide counseling for the rapidly growing number of elderly homeowners who seek to convert equity in their homes into income that can be used to pay for home improvements, medical costs, and other living expenses.

The organizations that provide housing counseling services help people become or remain homeowners or find rental housing, and assist homeless persons in finding the transitional housing they need to move toward a permanent place to live. Grant recipients also help homebuyers and homeowners realistically evaluate their readiness for a home purchase, understand their financing and downpayment options, and navigate what can be an extremely confusing and difficult process.

In addition, grantees help combat predatory lending by helping unwary borrowers review their loan documentation, and avoid unreasonably high interest rates, inflated appraisals, unaffordable repayment terms, and other conditions that can result in a loss of equity, increased debt, default, and even foreclosure. Likewise, foreclosure prevention counseling helps homeowners facing delinquency or default employ strategies, including expense reduction, negotiation with lenders and loan servicers, and loss mitigation, to avoid foreclosure. With foreclosures at critical levels nationwide, these services are more important than ever.

HUD awards annual grants under the housing counseling program through a competitive process. Organizations that apply for grants must be HUD-approved and are subject to biennial performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.

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HUD is the nation’s housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation’s fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

* Detailed individual grant summaries are available on the HUD’s website.

VIRGINIA

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA)
Alexandria, VA
$1,057,385 – Comprehensive Counseling

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) is the National Office for the Catholic Charities network of 174 main agencies and over 1600 branches and affiliates nationwide. Catholic Charities agencies and institutions nationwide provide vital social services to people in need, regardless of their religious, social or economic backgrounds. Through the housing counseling program, housing counselors in agencies across the country are trained to provide homebuyer education, mortgage delinquency, reverse mortgage counseling, relocation counseling, and other services. CCUSA provides quality counseling to all people in need without regard to religious, racial, ethnic or cultural background.

ClearPoint Financial Solutions, Inc.
Richmond, VA
$615,577 – Comprehensive Counseling
$30,000 – Loan Document Review Counseling

Clear Point Financial Solutions is committed to helping individuals and families take control of their finances and build a better future. Established in 1979, ClearPoint Financial Solutions has decades of experience providing innovative solutions and education services addressing their clients’ unique financial circumstances. Budget and credit counseling, and housing counseling and education are all core services.

Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission
Accomac, VA
$23,496 Comprehensive Counseling

The Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission (A-NPDC) was established pursuant to Section 51.2-4201 of the Code of Virginia in 1970 by Accomack County and Northampton County. The staff of the A-NPDC administers the following programs with significant housing counseling components: Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, Homeless Intervention Program (HIP), Virginia CDBG Projects, Indoor Plumbing/Rehabilitation Program (IP/R), Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids (HOPWA), NeighborWorks Homeownership Program and Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities (SPARC).

Bay Family Housing, Division of Bay Aging
Urbanna, VA
$20,000 Comprehensive Counseling

Bay Family Housing has been providing comprehensive housing counseling services to over 150 clients since 2006. Bay Family Housing offers group, individual, and personalized financial literacy counseling, pre-purchase housing counseling, homebuyer’s education classes, access to mortgage funds, and help locating down payment and closing cost assistance to assist renters to become homeowners. For homeowners, Bay Family offers foreclosure loss/mitigation assistance and home maintenance counseling. Bay Family Housing also administers a number of state funded programs such as Indoor Plumbing Rehabilitation Program, Emergency Home Repair, Weatherization, and Urgent Need (disaster related programs).

Helping Overcome Poverty’s Existence, Inc. (Formerly Mountain shelter, Inc.)
Wytheville, VA
$21,748 – Comprehensive Counseling

Helping Overcome Poverty’s Existence, Inc. (HOPE), a HUD-certified Counseling agency and Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) serves the southwest Virginia communities of Bland, Carroll, Galax, Grayson, Smyth and Wythe, with a combined population of 122,000 with the town of Wytheville near the geographic center. HOPE’s mission is to facilitate initiatives and coordinate services aimed at improving the overall well-being of individuals and families by providing the tools to increase self-sufficiency, promote healthy lifestyles and enhance the quality of life.

Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc.
Richmond, VA
$42,724 – Comprehensive Counseling

Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME) is one of the nation’s oldest and most well-respected fair housing and housing counseling organizations. HOME works to protect existing housing choices through fair housing education and enforcement; to expand housing choices through the creation of systemic change so that everyone has access to neighborhoods with good schools and good jobs; and to provide people with the skills and knowledge they need to take advantage of new housing opportunities. The organization will help homeowners in default to avoid foreclosure and challenge predatory lending practices; provide pre- and post-purchase counseling and downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers; help renters improve their ability to find and keep the housing of their choice through focused tenant education.

New River Community Action, Inc.
Radford, VA
$47,968 – Comprehensive Counseling

New River Community Action, Inc. (NRCA) is a non-profit charitable corporation that was established in 1965. NRCA’s mission is to promote and support the well-being and self-reliance of individuals, families and communities. NRCA develops programs that address issues of housing, health, education, employment, emergency assistance, and other areas known to be related to poverty.

People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia
Abingdon, VA
$33,984 – Comprehensive Counseling

People Incorporated of Southwest Virginia has an established history of providing quality services to low-income people to assist them in improving their lives, their families and their communities. Since its inception in 1964, People Incorporated has grown to serve both rural and urban people throughout five jurisdictions in Virginia including Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell and Washington Counties and the City of Bristol.

Piedmont Housing Alliance
Charlottesville, VA
$32,236 – Comprehensive Counseling
$5,000 – Loan Document Review Counseling

The Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1983 to address affordable housing and other community development needs on a regional basis that creates housing and community development opportunity for very low to moderate income families and individuals.

Prince William County Virginia Cooperative Extension
Manassas, VA
$47,968 – Comprehensive Counseling
$20,433 – HECM Counseling

Virginia Cooperative Extension is an “extension” of Virginia Tech and Virginia State Universities. Located in Prince William County Virginia, our Financial Education Programprovides education and counseling to help families and individuals help themselves develop a goal-oriented strategy for managing personal finances and securing stable housing. In addition to one-on-one counseling and education, we offer free seminars and workshops on Home Ownership, Responsible Renting, and most any personal finance related topic.

Quin Rivers, Inc.
New Kent, VA
$37,480 – Comprehensive Counseling
$20,000 – HECM Counseling

Established in 1970, Quin Rivers is a non-profit corporation with the mission of strengthening individual, family, and community development. Quin Rivers’ vision is to facilitate the development and provision of services for citizens of low income and low wealth to create “healthy” families and communities. Quin Rivers uses housing as a base around which to organize services and the supports necessary to help clients become financially self-reliant.

Skyline Community Action Program, Incorporated
Standardsville, VA
$42,724 – Comprehensive Counseling

Skyline CAP is the designated community action agency for Green, Madison and Orange Counties in Virginia. The agency has offered housing counseling and assistance to residents since 1994. Skyline CAP’s counseling program is designed to assist low-income residents with information and resources to maintain and reach the most fundamental goal of safe and affordable housing. The program offers outreach and counseling to first-time homebuyers, renters, the homeless and homeowners. Counseling includes homeownership and rental assistance programs, HECM, fair housing assistance and information, money management and financial education, emergency assistance to reinstate utilities, rent delinquency or mortgage default and homebuyer education workshops.

Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project of Hampton Roads (STOP)
Norfolk, VA
$39,228 – Comprehensive Counseling

The Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project (STOP) Organization for over 40 years has been committed to increasing homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income individuals living within the southeastern region of Virginia. The STOP Organization also serves as a resource for disabled individuals seeking safe, affordable, assessable housing. STOP’s mission is to provide a range of services and activities which have quantifiable and potentially major impacts on the root causes of poverty. STOP focuses its efforts in areas impeding the achievement of self-sufficiency among the poor.

Total Action Against Poverty In Roanoke Valley
Roanoke, VA
$25,244 – Comprehensive Counseling

Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke Valley (TAP) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed in 1965 as the official anti-poverty community action agency for Virginia’s Fifth Planning District in southwestern Virginia. TAP serves low-income, children, adults, families, and neighborhoods through over 30 programs structured under five components: Head Start, This Valley Works, Financial Services, Housing and Community Development, and Families-in-Transition.

Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation
Virginia Beach, VA
$46,220 – Comprehensive Counseling
$5,000 – Loan Document Review Counseling

Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation (VBCDC) is a 501c3 private non-profit corporation. It was created in November of 1985. The VBCDC was created to provide affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income families within the City of Virginia Beach. The non-profit also works in concert with the City Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation in revitalizing neighborhoods. VBCDC offers a wide variety of resident services to families and individuals that participate in the Transitional Housing Program. The goal of this program is to assist the families in becoming independent and self-sufficient while improving income, finding permanent housing, rental housing and improving life skills that will enable them to achieve more in life. VBCDC also offers free and confidential Foreclosure Prevention and Loss Mitigation Counseling to homeowners in financial distress.

Virginia Housing Development Authority
Richmond, VA
$200,125 – Comprehensive Counseling
$25,000 – Loan Document Review Counseling

The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) is the state’s mortgage finance agency. Created in 1972 by the Virginia General Assembly, its mission is to help low and moderate-income Virginians attain quality, affordable housing. VHDA has been offering homeownership education classes since 1993. VHDA helps finance affordable, quality rental housing, and we help people with disabilities and the elderly make their homes more livable. VHDA also provides free homeownership classes, and partner with other lenders, developers and community service organizations to help put quality housing within the reach of every Virginian. In 2009, VHDA will also review loan documents prepared for mortgage loan closings.