According to an article from local KSDK News, the Illinois Housing Development Authority recently received two federal grants to aid homeowners in the state who are facing foreclosure. The grants came from NeighborWorks America, and they total $3 million.
What is NeighborWorks America?
NeighborWorks America seeks to help people across the U.S. to live in affordable homes, and to find ways to improve their lives and strengthen their communities. The organization set a number of strategic goals that it hopes to meet between 2012-2016, which include:
· Creating and preserving housing opportunities that are both sustainable and affordable
· Advancing community development programs and resident involvement in order to achieve a positive community impact.
· Supporting other NeighborWorks organizations that can help to provide housing and community development expertise, as well as effective business models
· Strengthening knowledge and skills in our communities related to community development and affordable housing, allowing ground-up or grassroots efforts to thrive
The organization focuses specifically on foreclosure prevention and community development. NeighborWorks America provides resources to struggling homeowners that include access to foreclosure help, news releases about mortgage scams, and important information about the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.
At NeighborWorks America, members of the organization believe that foreclosure counseling can play a big role in preventing foreclosures and aiding struggling borrowers. They provide foreclosure counseling training in cities across America. The content covered in these trainings ranges from basic knowledge about foreclosure prevention to advanced certifications in mortgage relief strategies. The organization’s focus on foreclosure prevention and foreclosure training will play a big role in the use of the $3 million grant money in Illinois.
What Will the Grants Fund?
While the market continues to show signs of recovery, many Illinois homeowners are still at risk of foreclosure. The funding from NeighborWorks America will provide 10,000 families in our state with access to free foreclosure prevention counseling. The counseling is through Governor Quinn’s Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN).
Quinn created the IFPN “as a service to Illinois residents to bring together the services and resources of various state agencies and qualified participating non-profit agencies” to guide homeowners through options for staying in their homes. These services are free.
Specifically, counselors through the IFPN can help borrowers to better understand the foreclosure process and to help with communication with mortgage lenders and servicers. They can also help with debt counseling so that you can maintain a reasonable budget and make your mortgage payments on time.
The recent grants from NeighborWorks America aren’t the only ones that the organization has provided to consumers in Illinois. Just last month, NeighborWorks America also provided a grant of nearly $100,000 to HomeStart, a non-profit organization in Northern Illinois that assists consumers with foreclosure problems and other homeownership issues. Like other programs sponsored by NeighborWorks America, this grant will aid housing and community development initiatives.
An experienced foreclosure defense attorney can answer any questions you might have about the foreclosure process, and can speak to your concerns about staying in your home after you’ve missed mortgage payments. Contact us today.
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