Once upon a time (about 7 years ago), the Tenant Resource Center got $60K for housing counseling from the federal government to run a statewide toll-free line. Then it went to $40K, then $25K, then $20K, then $0, then $20K and now back to $0. And now, no chance of getting any money, because the entire program has been zeroed out in the federal budget. Check out what will be lost! $88 Million Dollars! How many jobs is that?
We got word that Housing Counseling funding has been zeroed out in the FY11 CR. This means that, in the middle of the housing crisis, the funding which goes to local HUD approved housing counseling agencies, intermediaries, and state housing finance agencies for prepurchase, rental, reverse mortgage, and foreclosure counseling will not be available.
HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies have accomplished the following since fiscal year 2009:
· Provided more than 4 million families with individual housing counseling
· Counseled more than 420,000 pre-purchase households, resulting in 185,000 who purchased homes or are homeownership-ready
· Worked to prevent mortgage delinquency for 2.6 million households, with nearly 834,000 avoiding foreclosure
· Supported 413,000 with post purchase (non-foreclosure) services, 168,000 of whom refinanced or obtained reverse mortgages, and
· Assisted more than 590,000 renters and homeless individuals to resolve tenant issues or find shelter
The program has gotten a little absurd with its requirements and doesn’t understand agencies that only do rental housing because there are so few, but still, this is very needed money in many communities. Call your congresspeople today! Tell them we need this money for our communities.
