WASHINGTON – Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson today announced that he is instructing all FHA-approved lenders to provide foreclosure relief to FHA-insured families who are affected by Hurricane Katrina. The relief includes a special 90-day moratorium on all foreclosures of FHA-insured properties in the Presidentially declared disaster areas. Jackson is also encouraging lenders to undertake actions such as mortgage modification, refinancing, and waiver of late charges.
"We understand the pain that these families are going through in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” Jackson said. “We are committed to giving those families the security of having a roof over their heads as soon as possible - even if it's a temporary solution.”
Following President Bush’s federal disaster declaration, HUD began providing staff to Disaster Field Offices set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. HUD’s initial concern is to help meet the immediate housing needs of those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. HUD is also reaching out to its private sector partners for assistance. HUD is contacting: top mortgage lenders about their inventory of repossessed homes; the homebuilding industry for help with building materials and supplying construction workers; its housing counseling network to assist displaced homeowners; and the manufactured housing industry about available housing stock.
HUD has established a toll-free telephone number for Department employees and FHA-insured homeowners. That number is: 1 (866) 641-8102
HUD will:
- Provide Temporary Housing and Shelter – HUD will identify vacant multi-family housing, public housing units and HUD-owned homes that could be used as temporary housing for those forced from their homes;
- Grant Immediate Foreclosure Relief – HUD will grant a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration-insured homes;
- Reprogram and Accelerate Federal Block Grants – Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME grantees may reprogram previously awarded grants to redirect their focus to disaster recovery activities but grantees must request the reprogram from HUD;
- Provide Relief for Indian Housing – HUD will provide Indian Community Development Block Grant funding (up to $425,000 per grantee) for imminent threat to Indian Housing and Tribal areas;
- Provide Public Housing Reserve for Disasters and Emergencies – HUD has funding available for public housing authorities to help rehabilitate damaged properties;
- Make Available Programs for Damaged or Destroyed Properties – HUD’s Section 203(k) loan program enables homebuyers and homeowners who have lost their homes to finance both the purchase and/or refinancing of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home. This program encourages lenders to make mortgages available to borrowers who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms and to residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods;
- Mortgage Insurance for Disaster Victims – HUD has a special mortgage insurance program under Section 203(h) of the National Housing Act to assist disaster victims. Under this program, individuals or families whose residences were destroyed or damaged to such an extent that reconstruction or replacement is necessary are eligible for 100 percent financing; and
- Offer Assistance to Ginnie Mae Issuers in Disaster Areas
Ginnie Mae will provide assistance to Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) issuers with significant concentrations of loans within the affected areas. The assistance includes help in making payments to MBS investors where homeowners are unable to make payment, and eliminating delinquent loans from delinquency statistics used in risk monitoring.
Specific guidance for FHA-approved lenders can be also be found on HUD’s website.
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