HUD ANNOUNCES $286,795 IN HOUSING COUNSELING GRANTS TO THREE HOUSING COUNSELING ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque and Anthony Agencies Receive Awards

ALBUQUERQUE - New Mexico families facing foreclosure, seeking affordable rental housing, or hoping to buy their
first home will have a greater opportunity to find housing, or keep the homes they have, because of $286,795 in housing counseling grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (see
attached list).

"Now, more than ever, it is crucial that Americans understand how to manage their money, how to navigate the homebuying process,and how to secure their financial future." said Donovan. "This critical funding will help
counseling organizations continue to assist families in making more informed choices before they buy a home and counsel families facing foreclosure."

Housing counseling grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners and remaining homeowners after
their purchase. HUD-approved counseling agencies not only provide homeownership counseling, but also offer
financial literacy training to renters and homeless individuals and families.

In addition, grantees help combat predatory lending by helping unwary borrowers review their loan documentation, and avoid unreasonably high interest rates, inflated appraisals, unaffordable repayment terms, and other conditions that can result in a loss of equity, increased debt, default, and even foreclosure. And foreclosure prevention counseling helps homeowners facing delinquency or default to employ strategies, including expense reduction, negotiation with lenders and loan servicers, and loss mitigation that can avoid foreclosure. With foreclosures at
critical levels nationwide, these services are more important than ever.

The funding announced today is part of $60 million in housing counseling grants awarded nationwide. These grants
will support the direct provision of housing counseling services by 24 national and regional organizations, five multi-state organizations, and 463 state and local housing counseling agencies. In addition, HUD is awarding $5 million to three national organizations to train approximately 4,400 counselors who will receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist families with their housing needs.

HUD awards annual grants under the housing counseling program through a competitive process. Organizations that apply for grants must be HUD-approved and are subject to biennial performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status. New Mexico grantees are:

New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority
Albuquerque, NM
$169,683 - Comprehensive Counseling
$44,354 - Loan Document Review Counseling

The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) is the state's designated housing agency, providing a full continuum of affordable housing finance. MFA's programs range from providing housing to the homeless to providing homeownership opportunities for low-income families. The MFA was established in 1975 by the state of New Mexico
to help provide safe, decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Mexicans.

The mission of the Mortgage Finance Authority is "to house New Mexico's people by serving as the State's lead affordable housing finance and resources provider, engaging in self-sustaining practices, and promoting sound
housing policy." The MFA pursues its mission by financing single and multi-family mortgages through the issuance
of mortgage revenue bonds and through the administration of state and federal housing programs. MFA is qualified
as a public housing authority under the definition given in 42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.

The MFA's role in affordable housing provision in New Mexico is primarily that of a financing and resource distributor. The MFA neither operates nor develops housing directly, but instead works cooperatively with a plethora of private nonprofit and for-profit housing development organizations, service providers, and local governments in order to
fulfill its mission. The success of the MFA depends on the success of these entities.

United South Broadway Corporation
Albuquerque, NM
$30,488 - Comprehensive Counseling
$7,353 - Loan Document Review Counseling

United South Broadway Corporation (USBC) is a nonprofit community development organization incorporated in 1986
to provide housing assistance to low-wealth neighborhoods and communities. The organization is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency that has engaged in housing counseling since its inception. Experienced bilingual staff, trained and certified by NeighborWorks® Training Institute, provide comprehensive homebuyer education to
potential homebuyers. In 2006, the Project Change Fair Lending Center, a program of the Institute of Public Law at the University of New Mexico, School of Law, merged with USBC, making civil legal services more accessible. The program also increased USBC's counseling and training capacity to include in-house legal services and direct legal representation of homeowners facing judicial foreclosure actions in the courts.

USBC's housing counseling and legal services are dedicated to eliminating barriers to credit, capital, homeownership and economic development for low-income New Mexicans historically excluded from the economic mainstream.

Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation
Anthony, NM
$28,740 - Comprehensive Counseling
$6,177 - Loan Document Review Counseling

Since becoming established in 1973 as a nonprofit organization to address housing and economic conditions in southern New Mexico, Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation has become nationally recognized for its ability to improve the living conditions of low-income persons by providing comprehensive housing counseling services, affordable housing, through its homeownership and rental programs, and for its community development services. Tierra Del
Sol has a strong presence in the colonias of New Mexico and a long history of serving minorities, farm workers, displaced persons, single parents, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

Tierra Del Sol has been providing homebuyer education services for more than 20 years and in 2004 was recognized
by HUD as an approved housing counseling agency. Services include the following: homebuyer education programs; pre-purchase counseling; post-purchase counseling; home improvement and rehabilitation counseling; loss mitigation counseling; money and debt management counseling; financial literacy training; renters' assistance; service for homeless persons; and fair housing and fair lending education.

HUD's 2009 housing counseling grant funds will be used to provide group workshops and one-on-one counseling serves.

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More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.