Volunteer in Your Community! National NeighborWorks Week Begins June 6

Volunteers from across the country are gearing up for National NeighborWorks Week, June 6-13, 2009. More than 160 NeighborWorks organizations are slated to participate in this annual volunteer week, conducting nearly 300 events nationwide. NeighborWorks Plants! will kick off the week on June 6, with more than 100 organizations engaging community residents in efforts to beautify their neighborhoods with trees, plants, vegetables and flowers. Find out more details about this annual event and find a volunteer opportunity near you!

HUD Sanctions More Than 100 FHA Lenders

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Mortgagee Review Board has announced actions against more than 120 lenders for violating FHA requirements. Violations range from failure to conduct sufficient quality control, to failure to continue to meet FHA recertification requirements, to falsifying loan documents. See HUD press release. View List of lenders and the actions taken.

Renters Get New Protection From Foreclosure

Renters have more protection against losing their homes under a new foreclosure prevention bill President Obama signed into law on May 20. Starting immediately, the law requires that tenants who pay their rent on time can remain in their home until the end of their lease. Even without a lease, renters must be allowed to stay in their home for 90 days after the foreclosure. Learn more at WashingtonPost.com, including a link to state-by-state analysis of eviction and foreclosure laws. In response, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has developed a Renters in Foreclosure Toolkit that counselors can use as part of their foreclosure prevention efforts. Get this resource.

HUD Secretary Donovan Announces That the New $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit Can be 'Monetized' and Used for Downpayment

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers homebuyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 for purchasing their first home. Until now, families could only access this tax credit after filing their tax returns with the IRS.

HUD Secretary Donovan’s announcement details FHA's rules allowing state Housing Finance Agencies and certain nonprofits to "monetize" up to the full amount of the tax credit (depending on the amount of the mortgage) so that borrowers can immediately apply the funds toward their down payments.

Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their down payment in excess of 3.5 percent of appraised value or their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate.

Read HUD's news release.
Read FHA's new mortgagee letter.

NeighborWorks America Launches Social Media Presence

NeighborWorks America announced this month the launch of a new social media program. NeighborWorks is now engaging in a range of social media platforms – from this news blog and Facebook to Twitter and Flickr – to better connect with our audiences and to more rapidly disseminate news and information about the organization and the housing and community development field.

“The addition of a social media presence to our communication strategy enables NeighborWorks to interact with our target audiences about the issues that are important to them. It will continue to raise the profile of NeighborWorks as a leader in the nonprofit industry and give us the opportunity to build audience feedback and needs into our strategic planning,” said Linda Cotton Perry, director of Development and Communications at NeighborWorks America NeighborWorks America.

Learn more about how you can stay connected with NeighborWorks America