HUD ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT TO HELP NEW YORK STATE HOMEOWNERS STRUGGLING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT
New York to Receive over $100 Million to Help Families Remain in their Homes

NEW YORK - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrión announced today that HUD will provide $111,649,112 to help struggling homeowners in New York State through its Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP).

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Obama in July, authorizes HUD to administer a $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, to provide assistance - for up
to 24 months - to homeowners who have experienced a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition and are at-risk of foreclosure.HUD will assist borrowers in
32 states and Puerto Rico not otherwise funded by Treasury's Hardest Hit Housing Fund program, based on the
state's relative share of unemployed homeowners. HUD expects the program to begin taking applications from
eligible homeowners by the end of the year.

"The Emergency Homeowner Loan Program will provide limited and targeted assistance to help working families get back on their feet and keep their home while they look for work." said Carrión. "In crafting this new loan program,
HUD built on the lessons learned from Treasury's Hardest Hit initiative to design and implement a program to assist struggling unemployed homeowners avoid preventable foreclosures. Together, these two initiatives represent a combined $8.6 billion investment to help struggling borrowers and in doing so further contribute to the Obama Administration's efforts to stabilize housing markets and communities across the country."

"We know that the most cited reason for falling behind on mortgage payments is loss of income or medical bills,"
said Rep. Dan Maffei. "In this tough economy, good people are behind on payments through no fault of their own.
I applaud the Administration and HUD for stepping up and doing the right thing to help struggling homeowners stay where they belong - in their homes."

Kerry Quaglia, Executive Director of Home Headquarters, a HUD approved housing counseling agency and NeighborWorks affiliate in Syracuse said "This program is a great opportunity for those homeowners who desperately need funds to stabilize and secure their financial situation and move ahead with their lives. Syracuse can ill afford even one more vacant property-the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program can help keep houses in the hands of homeowners."

According to HUD statistics, during the 12 months ending August 2010, the unemployment rate in New York State averaged 8.6 percent, up from 7.4 percent during the 12 months ending August 2009 and 4.9 percent during the
12 months ending August 2008. During this same period, the unemployment rate in the Syracuse metropolitan area averaged 8.1 percent, up from 7.3 percent during the 12 months ending August 2009 and 5 percent during the 12 months ending August 2008.

With regard to foreclosure data, HUD statistics indicate that 7.6 percent of total loans in New York were in foreclosure, 90 days or more delinquent or in REO (Real Estate Owned) in August 2010, up from 6.3 percent in
August 2009. Similarly, 8 percent of total loans in the Syracuse metropolitan area were in foreclosure, 90 days or more delinquent, or in REO (Real Estate Owned) in August 2010, up from 6.7 percent in August 2009 and 3.7
percent in August 2008. Local statistics indicate that Onondaga County has had almost 1,100 foreclosure filings
as of the end of September, which is slightly less than last year.

"During these tough economic times, when thousands of New Yorkers are looking for work but struggling to make
their mortgage payments, we need to do more to help prevent foreclosure," Senator Gillibrand said. "When a family
is foreclosed on, vacancies rise, property values plummet, crime increases, and the entire neighborhood suffers.
This investment will help keep thousands of families in their homes protecting neighborhoods across New York."

Who Will Be Helped
The program will complement existing Administration efforts to assist struggling homeowners– including the Home Affordable Modification and Hardest Hit Fund initiative administered by the U.S. Treasury Department. Under the
EHLP:

1. the borrower must be at least three month delinquent in their payments and have a reasonable likelihood of
   being able to resume repayment of their mortgage payments and related housing expenses within two years;
   
   
2. the property must be the principle residence of the borrower, and eligible borrowers may not own a second
   home;
   
   
3. the borrower must have suffered at least a 15 percent reduction in income and have been able to afford
   their mortgage payments prior to the event that triggered the loss income.

How They Will Be Helped
The HUD Emergency Homeowners Loan Program will offer a forgivable, deferred payment "bridge loan" (zero percent interest, non-recourse, subordinate loans) for up to $50,000 to assist eligible borrowers with their mortgage arrearages and payments on their for mortgage principal, interest, mortgage insurance premiums, taxes and hazard insurance for up to 24 months.

There will be a dual delivery approach for program administration. The first approach will delegate some of the program's administrative functions to a designated third party. The second approach will enable state housing
finance agencies (HFAs) that operate substantially similar programs to engage in relief efforts on behalf of residents
of their state:

• Delegated approach: HUD will delegate key program administration functions to NeighborWorks® America –
  an experienced and highly regarded national network of more than 240 affiliated housing counseling agencies.
  Under the program, NeighborWorks counselors will provide intake counseling, document preparation and
  outreach functions. HUD will also use its delegation authority to contract with an experienced entity to
  provide loan servicing and fiscal control functions such as collecting payments from homeowners, distributing payments to servicers, and managing loan balances.
  
  
• Substantially similar state law approach: State HFAs that operate loan assistance programs that are
  determined by HUD to be substantially similar to the EHLP will receive allocations to fund emergency loans
  for borrowers in their states as well as payments to cover the administrative costs of performing the intake
  and housing counseling and fiscal agent functions (described above) directly or indirectly through
  subcontracts with third parties.

###

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.