TWO ALBUQUERQUE HOUSING COUNSELING AGENCIES RECEIVE GRANTS TO HELP FAMILIES DEAL WITH MORTGAGE MODIFICATION AND MORTGAGE SCAMS
139 local housing counseling agencies & 23 intermediary agencies funded nationwide

ALBUQUERQUE - In an effort to help families keep their homes and avoid mortgage scams, two Albuquerque agencies have received HUD Housing Counseling Grants. The Independent Living Resource Center was awarded $26,181, while the United South Broadway Corporation received $19,348. Nationally, more than $10 million in housing counseling grants was distributed to 162 organizations. This is unspent funding from the 2010 appropriation that was re-competed and awarded to HUD-approved counseling agencies.

"The funding announced today is specifically earmarked to provide counseling assistance relating to mortgage modification, avoiding potential mortgage scams, and assisting victims of scams," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "It is crucial that we support these agencies in helping struggling families do whatever is possible to avoid foreclosure without being victimized by so called mortgage "rescue" companies."

HUD is awarding $3 million to 139 local housing counseling agencies nationwide, and more than $7 million to 23 housing counseling intermediary agencies. These funds are designed to serve residents in the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas that are experiencing the worse foreclosure problems.

The funding is predominately for foreclosure prevention counseling, assistance with application to Federal and other mortgage modification and loss mitigation programs, and related outreach. It will also support outreach and counseling efforts designed to identify and assist victims of mortgage modification scams, and report those cases to the applicable authorities.

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

The Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC) in Albuquerque opened in 1989 and provides housing counseling, individual advocacy, life skill training, peer counseling and information and referral in such areas as transportation, benefits, education, finances, housing and employment. ILRC also offers Home Modification and the Assistive Technology Program, and supports Consumer-Directed attendant services. ILRC has served approximately 12,000 consumers to date, with approximately 3,600 of those consumers receiving various forms of housing counseling.  ILRC's Housing Division provides pre-purchase, rental and foreclosure prevention counseling.

United South Broadway Corporation (USBC) of Albuquerque is a non-profit Community Development Organization incorporated in 1986 to provide housing assistance to low-wealth neighborhoods and communities. The organization has engaged in housing counseling since its inception. Experienced bi-lingual staff trained and certified by NeighborWorks Training Institute, provide comprehensive home buyer education to potential home buyers. 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. That also increased USBC's counseling and training capacity to include in-house legal services and direct legal representation for homeowners facing judicial foreclosure action in the courts. USBC's "One-Stop" housing counseling and legal services are dedicated to eliminating barriers to credit, capital, homeownership and economic development for low-incomes New Mexicans historically excluded from the economic mainstream (www.unitedsouthbroadway.org).

For a list of all grants, organized by state, visit HUD's website.
For summary of each grant, organized by state, visit HUD's website.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.