Bennet: Boost for Housing Counselors Will Help Struggling Families Stay in Their Homes

HUD Makes $79 Million in Grants Available to Housing Agencies

Washington, DC – July 29, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — On the heels of Michael Bennet’s call to Senate Appropriations leaders to provide increased resources for housing counselors who are helping struggling homeowners stay in their homes, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it will make $79 million available for a broad range of housing counseling programs to help families find and preserve housing. The available funding is an increase of $21 million, or 27 percent, over last year.

“This announcement is a sign of our commitment to helping families who are still struggling to pay their mortgage and stay in their homes,” Bennet said. “This boost is great news for housing agencies and counselors across Colorado who are doing everything they can to help struggling homeowners in this savage economy.”

The grants will be awarded competitively to hundreds of HUD-approved counseling agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies across the country that offer a variety of services including how to avoid foreclosure, how to avoid mortgage scams, how to purchase or rent a home, how to improve credit scores and how to qualify for a reverse mortgage. HUD-approved counseling agencies provide homeownership counseling as well as financial literacy education to renters and homeless individuals and families.

Also this year, Bennet created an online resources page on his website for Colorado homeowners facing foreclosure. “Help for Homeowners” provides links to federal and state agencies that can provide assistance, including HUD-certified counselors, to individuals and families struggling with their mortgage payments.

How to Apply

HUD will award grants to approximately 550 applicants. Instructions are posted on Grants.gov. To apply, click here and enter 14.169 in the CFDA field. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The application deadline is 11:59:59 pm eastern time on August 27, 2010. If applicants have difficulty accessing the information, they may obtain assistance by calling the help desk hotline at 800-518-GRANTS or by e-mailing support (at) grants (dot) gov The Grants.gov help desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, except federal holidays.