Piece by Piece Foreclosure Initiative Making Headway

Attendees at the Piece by Piece Initiative

Over 40 Atlanta metro area housing counseling agencies met July 12 as part of the Piece by Piece Atlanta Regional Foreclosure Initiative to discuss innovative methodologies to better serve at risk homeowners threatened by losing their homes to foreclosure. Odetta MacLeish White, Program Officer, for Enterprise Community Partners welcomed attendees and was followed by Susan Adams, Piece by Piece Coordinator, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership who provided an update on the Piece by Piece Initiative. Enayat Oliver with NeighborWorks America also presented housing counseling sector opportunities which included discussing the South Carolina United Way 2-1-1 service and its applicability in Georgia and served as a facilitator for the follow on discussions. The 2-1-1 service connects homeowners at risk of losing their home to foreclosure with housing counseling agency assistance.

"There is need for us to collaboratively work harder and smarter on behalf of those we serve to come up with innovative means of increased scale to more effectively attack the housing foreclosure challenge", said HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr. "I am encouraged by the turn out and enthusiasm and look forward to the continued momentum gained here to see tangible outcomes soon."

Jennings, also discussed the recently announced Administration's additional mortgage relief to unemployed homeowner's forbearance program. The announcement adjustment Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements that will require servicers to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months. The Administration intends to require servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months wherever possible under regulator and investor guidelines.

These adjustments will provide much needed assistance for unemployed homeowners trying to stay in their homes while seeking re-employment. These changes are intended to set a standard for the mortgage industry to provide more robust assistance to unemployed homeowners in the economic downturn.

These reforms build on successful Administration initiatives to support unemployed borrowers through the $7.6 billion Hardest Hit Fund and the $1 billion Emergency Homeowner Loan Program (EHLP). The Hardest Hit Fund, first announced in February 2010, provides support to 18 states and the District of Columbia, which represent the areas hardest hit by steep home price declines and unemployment, to design and implement programs to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Participating states have dedicated approximately seventy percent of program funds toward programs to help homeowners struggling with unemployment or underemployment. As of this month, each participating state is accepting applications from borrowers and providing direct mortgage assistance to those that qualify.

The Piece by Piece - A Regional Foreclosure Initiative is a bold, coordinated effort designed to spur strategic action from the many Atlanta regional stakeholders who care passionately about protecting the long-term future of our neighborhoods and communities.

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