CUOMO ANNOUNCES DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

WASHINGTON - Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced a series of actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to speed disaster recovery efforts in New Hampshire from the severe ice storm that hit the state this month. The storm knocked out power to thousands of residents and businesses, forced businesses to close and caused property damage in several counties.

These HUD actions include authorization for the immediate availability, upon the grantee's request, of $4.4 million in HUD assistance to the New Hampshire cities of Dover ($433,000), Manchester ($2.76 million), Nashua ($844,000) and Rochester ($365,000). The HUD action accelerates the availability of the funds, which had been scheduled to go to the communities this coming July for a broad range of community development programs. The funds come from the cities' annual allocation of $3.8 million from HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and from $588,000 in HOME Investment Partnership Program assistance to the City of Manchester.

President Clinton declared a disaster for Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Strafford, and Sullivan counties January 15, making it easier for the counties to use HUD funds for disaster recovery.

"HUD is committed to doing all it can to help New Hampshire families whose lives have been interrupted by this disaster," Cuomo said. "Special programs can't erase the pain and suffering these families have experienced, but they can play an essential role in rebuilding strong, vibrant communities."

The HUD assistance can be used to: repair homes and businesses; repair and rebuild public buildings and facilities, such as water and sewer facilities; and to pay for clearance and demolition of structures damaged by the storm, not covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In addition, the Federal Housing Administration, the government-owned mortgage insurer that is a part of HUD, is making allowances to mitigate the hardships faced by individuals residing in presidentially declared disaster areas of New Hampshire. The FHA is issuing a moratorium on foreclosures of FHA-insured home mortgages, to prevent people hit hard by the storm from losing their homes.

HUD will also make available the FHA Section 203(h) mortgage insurance program for disaster victims -- 100 percent financing for individuals or families whose homes were destroyed or substantially damaged in the storm. FHA will also ease other mortgage insurance program requirements. A copy of the FHA Mortgage Letter can be accessed on the web at: www.hud.gov.

Also, the Government National Mortgage Association, another entity within HUD, is encouraging all single-family, multifamily, and manufactured housing security issuers to provide as much forbearance as possible to homeowners in New Hampshire who cannot make their mortgage payments. To obtain more information on the conditions of assistance, issuers should contact their Ginnie Mae account representative. In addition, a copy of the All Participants memorandum can be accessed on Ginnie Mae's website: www.GinnieMae.gov.