May 23, 2013

One-Year Anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy: HUD Releases Two APIs

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The Digital Government Strategy, which was published on May 23, 2012, set out to accomplish three things:

  • Enable the American people and an increasingly mobile workforce to access high-quality digital government information and services anywhere, anytime, on any device.
  • Ensure that as the government adjusts to this new digital world, we seize the opportunity to procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure and affordable ways.
  • Unlock the power of government data to spur innovation across our Nation and improve the quality of services for the American people.

In order to better communicate with the public, HUD is making information available through multiple formats and increasing access to services on mobile devices.  Our goal is to make our services and information available anywhere, anytime, and on any device, and in formats that facilitate additional use by public developers and entrepreneurs.

To date, we have released two APIs, which are located at www.hud.gov/developer. The Housing Counselor Web Service allows searching by name, city, state, and current location to find information regarding Housing Counseling Agencies. The Section 3 Business Lookup allows searching by location, zip code, and business type to find information on Section 3 businesses. To learn about Section 3, visit http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/section3/section3

These APIs are for public use and are intended to provide developers, researches, entrepreneurs and others with the ability to access HUD data in ways that make it easier to use and program.  The release of this data, in alignment with the new Open Data Policy, will help achieve the goal of making previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, and others who can use the data to generate new products and services, build businesses, and create jobs.

Today, nearly 50% of American adults own a smart phone. In May of last year, when the Digital Government Strategy was released, that number was only 35% of adults. Recently, HUD launched the first housing discrimination app to provide the public with a quick, easy and safe way to learn about their fair housing rights and, whenever necessary, file fair housing complaints. The housing discrimination app is available in the iTunes store.

The Fair Market Rents app, which is a map-based app that allows users to search Fair Market Rents and income limits by current location or by metropolitan area, county, zip code and/or address is also available to the public.  The app may be downloaded from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research’s website: http://www.huduser.org/portal/pdr_mobile.html

To learn about HUD’s digital strategy, visit: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/Digital_Strategy

May 21, 2013

National Mortgage Settlement Provides Relief for more than 620,000 Homeowners, Including Vinel Cooper in Pennsylvania

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The nation’s largest mortgage servicers have distributed $50.63 billion in direct relief to over 620,000 homeowners, or roughly $81,000 per homeowner as part of the National Mortgage Settlement, according to a progress update released today by independent settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith of the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. Over one year ago, the Department of Justice, Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) and 49 state attorneys general reached a landmark agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. The Monitor’s state-level data can be downloaded here. A fact sheet summarizing national consumer relief can be downloaded here.  Read Secretary Donovan’s statement on today’s news here.

The report demonstrates significant progress on the broadest and most robust principal reduction program in the nation’s history.  Nearly $30 billion of the overall completed consumer relief has come in the form of principal forgiveness and refinancing. Because of the settlement, the principal reduction helps borrowers stay in their homes, lowering monthly payments on over 310,000 loans and actually reducing struggling homeowners’ loan balances by more than $83,000 on average.

Ms. Vinel Cooper in Philadelphia, PA knows first-hand how important this settlement has been.  In October 2006, she purchased her home for $106,000. By November 2011, Ms. Cooper was desperately trying to save her home. She fell behind on her mortgage payments due to economic hardships, and was unable to pay down the missed payments even when her finances stabilized.

Ms. Cooper sought assistance directly from her mortgage servicer but kept getting the run around. The servicer continued to request the same information even though she had provided the information countless times. Meanwhile, the missed payments on her home continued to multiply leaving her dangerously close to foreclosure. At her wits end, Ms. Cooper contacted the Save Your Home Philly Hotline and they referred her to an Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania (AHCOPA) counseling center. As a result, AHCOPA submitted a complete package to Ms. Cooper’s mortgage servicer for a loan modification that included principal reduction.

In July 2012, Ms. Cooper was granted a trial modification thanks to the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement. Her trial modification consisted of three timely payments of $689.83 after which her modification would become permanent. She never missed a payment and on January 7, 2013 her loan balance was officially reduced from $146,323.28 to $53,834.38. In total, Ms. Cooper had over $90,000 both in principal and arrears forgiven.

Thanks to Ms. Cooper’s persistence, AHCOPA and the National Mortgage Servicing Settlement, Ms. Cooper is now able to stay in her home, comfortably afford her mortgage, and actually have equity in her home.

And today we learned that more than 600,000 responsible homeowners, like Ms. Cooper, received relief from the National Mortgage Settlement.  To read more details on the mortgage settlement or to find out where to get assistance visit National Mortgage Settlement.

May 17, 2013

Fair Housing Means EVERYONE

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By Public Affairs Staff

This past Wednesday, Secretary Donovan spoke to the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) and highlighted the many accomplishments the Administration and HUD have realized on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans:

HUD and this administration have taken historic steps in the area of housing to ensure that we fulfill our nation’s commitment to equality.

As part of its financial support for housing and urban development programs, HUD awards millions of dollars every year through competitive grant programs, funding that is announced by Notices of Funding Availability (or NOFAs).  HUD has long required that outstanding civil rights violations must be resolved before an applicant can be considered eligible to compete for funds. More recently, HUD added to its requirements that an eligible grantee may not have outstanding civil rights violations of a state or local law prohibiting housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
HUD has included similar anti-discrimination provisions in other areas. For example, some courts in Title VII civil rights challenges have applied principles of sex discrimination for gender stereotyping, which has provided limited but important civil rights protections for transgender individuals. Expanding on this in 2010, HUD formally adopted the principle that housing discrimination because of non-conformity with gender stereotypes – essentially gender identity discrimination – is sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

The following year, HUD enacted an important rule:  Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity. This rule does four important things to ensure that LGBT persons are not excluded from HUD’s programs:

  • It creates a broad requirement that housing falling within these categories is made available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
  • It clarifies HUD’s definitions of “family” and “household” and reaffirms that these include all persons regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
  • It prohibits those funded by HUD or insured by FHA from asking about an applicant or occupant’s sexual orientation or gender identity for purposes of housing eligibility.
  • And finally, the rule prohibits FHA approved lenders from basing eligibility determinations for FHA-insured loans on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Earlier this year, HUD reached a historic agreement with Bank of America (BofA) to settle allegations the mortgage lender refused to provide financing to a lesbian couple and had illegally based its denial on the couple’s sexual orientation and marital status.

Moving forward, HUD will continue to aggressively investigate these kinds of violations. And, using our research arm, we’ll study and monitor trends in fair housing.   Next month HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research will release the first ever study of Housing Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples.

As Secretary Donovan said to National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals, “Housing opportunities should be available to ALL persons.”

May 16, 2013

Countdown to Father’s Day 2013!

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In nearly one month from today – June 15th – more than 200 public housing authorities across the country will host Father’s Day events as part of a HUD Initiative to reconnect fathers and their children who live in public housing or surrounding communities.  These events also offer an opportunity to link dads with employment, health and educational resources in their community. HUD’s Father’s Day initiative is part of a larger Obama Administration effort to promote responsible fatherhood.  In his first term, President Obama started a National Conversation on Responsible Fatherhood and Strong Communities and made the issue of fatherhood and at-risk youth a priority for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.  President Obama has been one of our nation’s leaders on issues related to responsible fatherhood and he knows firsthand the power that fathers can have in the lives of their children, and the challenges families and communities face without committed fathers.

With Father’s Day just 30 days away, we are encouraging willing partners to join our effort by scheduling a “story hour” for fathers and kids at your local library or joining an your local Girls or Boys Club or YMCA at an event that’s already in the works.  There may be volunteer opportunities for fathers and their children elsewhere in your community. Making these simple connections is worth the effort to promote the importance of fathers in a child’s life if you can help keep even one child from dropping out of school, using drugs or committing a crime, which statistics show are more likely to happen when children grow up without a father or father-figure in their lives.  So, mark your calendars!  Read more about HUD’s Father’s Day 2013 Initiative and the White House’s Fatherhood initiative at www.fatherhood.gov.

May 9, 2013

HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative Recognized by Harvard’s Kennedy School as a Top 25 Innovation In Government

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On May 1, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government recognized HUD’s Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) as one of this year’s Top 25 programs in its Innovations in American Government Award competition.  This competition is the nation’s preeminent award devoted to recognizing and promoting excellence and creativity in the public sector.

HUD’s SCI was created to help build strong and resilient communities through a more integrated planning process that connects housing and transportation options to job centers. This planning will help the average American family alleviate their housing and transportation costs. By partnering with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, SCI is creating communities that are economically prosperous, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable, by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and supporting energy-efficient and healthy affordable housing. In addition, SCI has been pioneering an approach to community and economic development that is helping regions increase their economic competitiveness.  This initiative is encouraging comprehensive regional planning to guide state, metropolitan, and local investments in job creation, transportation, and housing through Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants. The SCI grants awarded in 2010 and 2011 are projected to impact one third of the U.S. population.

One of the most innovative aspects of the Sustainable Communities Initiative is that it is not only impacting urban communities, but also rural communities.  More than 40 percent of HUD Sustainable Communities Grants have been awarded to smaller regions and rural places with less than 50,000 people. In some cases through the SCI planning process, rural and tribal communities will finally obtain a supermarket, a bank, and other necessities that we take for granted. Continue reading →