HUD to Provide Foreclosure Relief, Loan Guarantee Assistance for Storm-Ravaged Midwest Counties

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorWashington, D.C.–The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said it will speed federal disaster assistance to dozens of storm-ravaged counties in Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced out of their homes after severe storms, tornadoes and flooding have left this region devastated.HUD will provide foreclosure relief to families whose homes are insured through Federal Housing Administration (FHA).“These storms, and the flooding they produced, are tearing people’s lives apart and we must offer substantive relief to these families,” says HUD Secretary, Steven Preston. “To speed this recovery, we’re calling for a ‘foreclosure time-out’ to offer FHA-insured families a little breathing room as they confront the rebuilding process.” In certain storm- and flood-ravaged counties, HUD granted a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages and strongly recommended that loan servicers take such actions as special forbearance, loan modification, refinancing, and waiver of late charges. Foreclosure relief is available for FHA-insured families living in several counties in Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin.In addition, HUD is also offering states the ability to re-allocate existing federal resources toward disaster relief and making mortgage insurance available to disaster victims. It is also offering Section 108 loan guarantee assistance for housing rehabilitation, economic development and repair of public infrastructure.