BREAKING NEWS:HUD TO OFFER $50K BRIDGE LOANS TO UNEMPLOYED HOMEOWNERS IN DISTRESS

The Obama Administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development is today annnouncing plans to launch a new, $1 Billion loan program designed to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure. While details are still being released as I write, initial reports from CNBC News indicate the program will provide homeowners who have lost their jobs and are three months behind on their mortgage payments a “bridge” loan of up to $50,000 at 0% interest. The new foreclosure prevention program comes in part as a response to rising unemployment and ongoing mortgage default numbers in advance of a mid term political election. Despite the Administration’s attempts to stem the tide with programs such as HARP, HAMP and HAFA–programs which I have discussed in previous blogs–it is estimated that nearly 8 million of the 9 million homeowners in default who have held out the hope of modifying their mortgage payments through government backed programs will “walk  away empty handed” for their efforts. Stay tuned for more details as they are announced.