OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES OVER $6 MILLION IN COUNSELING GRANTS TO NEW YORK STATE
HUD funding critical to help families find and keep their housing

NEW YORK - In an effort to help New York families find decent housing and to prevent future foreclosures, the
Obama Administration recently announced over $2 million in housing counseling grants to over 40 local organizations and government agencies across New York State, as well as $4.2 million to three national and regional organizations providing assistance to New York homeowners. Some of the cities with non-profit grantees include Rochester,
Albany, Schenectady, Buffalo, Kingston, White Plains, Binghamton, Watertown, and New York City. The funding to New York is part of more than $73 million awarded nationwide. (A listing of New York grantees is attached.)

"These organizations are on the front lines of helping families who are desperate to remain in their homes," said
Shaun Donovan, Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Now, more than ever, it's crucial that we support these agencies that are working with struggling families on a one-to-one basis to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process, and secure their financial futures."

"Housing counseling agencies can play a major role in preventing families from becoming homeless," said Adolfo
Carrión, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey. "In this economic downturn, it is critical that Americans better understand how to manage their finances and become wiser and more astute homeowners, and that's what these housing counseling agencies do."

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.

Nearly $68 million will support the direct provision of housing counseling services by 24 national and regional organizations, 5 multi-state organizations, and 484 state and local housing counseling agencies. In addition, HUD
is awarding more than $5 million to three national organizations to train approximately 4,500 counselors who will receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist families with their housing needs.

National and regional agencies distribute much of HUD's housing counseling grant funding to community-based grassroots organizations that provide advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking to improve their housing conditions. In addition, these larger organizations help improve the quality of housing counseling
services and enhance coordination among other counseling providers.

Nationally, counseling agencies will use $9.5 million to help assist senior citizens seeking reverse mortgages or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). These agencies will provide counseling for the rapidly growing number of
elderly homeowners who seek to convert equity in their homes into income that can be used to pay for home improvements, medical costs, and other living expenses.

The organizations that provide housing counseling services help people become or remain homeowners or find rental housing, and assist homeless persons in finding the transitional housing they need to move toward a permanent
place to live. Grant recipients also help homebuyers and homeowners realistically evaluate their readiness for a
home purchase, understand their financing and downpayment options, and navigate what can be an extremely confusing and difficult process.

In addition, grantees help combat predatory lending by helping unwary borrowers review their loan documentation, and avoid potential mortgage scams, 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. Likewise, foreclosure prevention counseling helps homeowners facing delinquency or default employ strategies, including expense reduction, negotiation with lenders and loan servicers, and loss mitigation, to avoid foreclosure. With foreclosures at critical levels nationwide, these services are more important than ever.

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 performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.

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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.

NEW YORK GRANTEES

Codes:
   COMP = These grants support the full menu of counseling activities
   HECM = These grants support reverse mortgage counseling for seniors
   MMSA = Mortgage Modification and Mortgage Scam Assistance