White House Announces New Foreclosure Prevention Efforts (DSNews.com)

DSNews.com
(4/9/2013 5:46 PM, Krista Franks Brock)

In order to further assist homeowners with its Making Home Affordable programs, the Obama administration announced the launch of three new housing initiatives designed to direct struggling homeowners to programs aimed at foreclosure prevention.

"Our goal is to ensure that responsible Americans who qualify for federal mortgage assistance have the necessary information to benefit from the programs available to help them avoid losing their homes," reads a post on the White House Blog.

In the first of the three initiatives, Treasury will work with NeighborWorks America to raise awareness about Making Home Affordable and assist homeowners in applying for assistance through its programs.

These efforts will be especially targeted toward homeowners in underserved areas.

The second initiative is designed to help unemployed homeowners. The Department of Labor will work with American Job Centers to educate unemployed homeowners about forbearance available through the Home Affordable Modification Program and other options that might help them keep their homes while they search for new jobs.

The third initiative is the Housing Counseling Office launched by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The office consists of a broad network of about 2,500 counseling agencies, which are available to help both struggling and prospective homeowners in making sound financial decisions regarding homeownership.

Housing counseling through HUD's new office is available for free or at a low cost, according to the White House Blog.

"While we are encouraged that the housing market is on the path to recovery, our job is far from finished," the White House said.

"By connecting eligible homeowners with existing foreclosure prevention programs, our new counseling initiatives will enable more borrowers to remain in their homes and go a long way to ensuring a brighter economic future for these families," the blog post stated.