On December 15, 2003, President Bush nominated Alphonso Jackson to become the 13th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As HUD's Deputy Secretary for nearly three years, Jackson will continue the Administration's housing and community development agenda begun under former Secretary Mel Martinez.

Effective January 1, 2004, FHA will insure single-family home mortgages up to $160,176 in low cost areas and up to $290,319 in high cost areas. The FHA maximum mortgage limit in Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties is $226,100.

HUD News

The American Dream Down payment Act was signed into law in December by President Bush. Nationally, the $200 million program will help an estimated 40,000 low-income families to become homeowners by assisting them with the upfront costs necessary to buy a home. The American Dream Down payment Act will be administered under HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).

Recently Awarded HUD Grants for Michigan

The State of Michigan received a record $46.5 million in Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grants to assist homeless families and individuals. Never before has any federal agency awarded so much financial assistance to help the homeless. HUD's grants include a record funding to the City of Detroit CoC - $14,118,997; Out-Wayne County CoC - $2,964,420; Pontiac/Oakland County CoC - $3,252,600 and Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County CoC - $3,759,505. Other area recipients include Lenawee County CoC - $86,511; Monroe County CoC - $220,251 and Livingston County CoC - $182,275. ESG recipients include: Dearborn - $92,143; Detroit - $1,699,334; Oakland County - $143,282; Wayne County - $242,522; Grand Rapids - $173,496; Lansing - $92,875; Michigan State Program - $2,873,606; Saginaw - $111,640; Flint - $192,920 and Genesee County - $84,572.

Young Detroit Builders of Detroit will receive a Youthbuild Program grant of $700,000 to assist 70 young men and women to receive high school equivalency diplomas and provide training in homebuilding skills that will qualify them for careers in the building industry.

The Melvindale Housing Commission was awarded a ROSS grant in the amount of $100,000 to provide support services to elderly and persons with disabilities who live in public housing.

Service Coordinator Grants were awarded to owners of six Southeast Michigan private housing developments that receive money from HUD to house low-income individuals to hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the frail elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs. Cranbrook Tower, Ann Arbor-$388,652; Parkway Meadows, Ann Arbor- $388,652; Fraser Woods, Fraser-$388,652; Bella Vista Glen, Highland Park-$305,012; Walled Lake Villa, Walled Lake-$305,012; Greenwood Villa, Westland-$388,652.

Other News

HUD's Secretary-Held Mortgage servicing contractor, First Madison Services, Inc. has moved. Their new address is: U.S. Department of HUD c/o First Madison Services, Inc., 4111 S. Darlington, Suite 300, Tulsa, OK 74135. First Madison Services, Inc. services all remaining mortgages assigned to HUD under the former Assignment program, all partial Claims subordinate mortgages, all OND/TND second mortgages, all assigned HECM first mortgages and Secretary-Held HECM subordinate mortgages, and the processing of all HECM assignment requests.

The State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) announced that a 472-unit elderly rental development would be rehabilitated with the help of a mortgage loan of up to $16,500,000. River Towers will be located on Jefferson Avenue in the City of Detroit. All of the units will be targeted to households with incomes at or below 60 percent of area median income. This investment will create nearly 242 full-time yearlong jobs in construction and related trades.
Application deadlines are approaching for HOPE VI revitalization and demolition grants.
Deadline dates: Revitalization - January 19, 2004………………….Demolition - February 18, 2004

Websites to Visit

Find out about government wide grant funding opportunities at: www.grants.gov.
Want to find out about current HUD Contracting Opportunities? Obtain a current list of opportunities at: www.hud.gov/offices/cpo/contract.cfm. To see the latest list of HUD Homes nationwide please visit: www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/reo/homes.cfm

Take Note of These Dates

• April 7-8, & August 25-26, 2004 - Oklahoma City, OK. Loss Mitigation Training www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/nsc/training.cfm
  
• January 27, Environmental Training/ HUD grantees, HUD Detroit, Cynthia Washington 313/226-7900, ext, 8045; Jan. 29-30, Grant Writing for Faith-based and Community Organizations Detroit, contact Stephanie at (313) 226-7900 ext. 8018
  
• February 3-4-5, 2004 - Ontario, CA. HUD - Direct Endorsement Training. Sponsored by the NAPMW-Raincross Chapter. www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/events/events.cfm
  
• February 10-11- Las Vegas, NV. HUD Approved Housing Counseling workshop: Helping Families Become Homeowners. Pre-registration, no fee; www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/events/t2_10_04.pdf
  
• April 7-8, August 25-26, 2004 - Oklahoma City, OK. Basic Loss Mitigation Training presented by HUD's National Servicing Center. Info and registration: www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/events/events.cfm
  
• May 17-19, Michigan Conference on Affordable Housing, Lansing Center, www.housingconference.org