HECAT Request For Proposals Available

As many of our readers know, the State of Minnesota is unique in that we are the only state in the country with a dedicated pool of funds that provides financial support to eligible non-profit organizations to deliver a variety of homebuyer/homeowner education, counseling and training services to Minnesotans. This dedicated pool is known as HECAT (The Homeownership Education, Counseling and Training Fund).

Some of the valuable services that are funded through HECAT include:

• Pre-purchase education and counseling (Home Stretch),
• Post-purchase education and counseling,
• Home equity conversion counseling (Reverse Mortgages) and
• Foreclosure prevention counseling

Funds for HECAT come from a public-private partnership of four agencies and organizations that are fully invested in ensuring that Minnesotans have access to the education and counseling tools necessary to achieve successful (sustainable) home ownership:

The Family Housing Fund,

Greater Minnesota Housing Fund,

Minnesota Housing (Finance Agency), and

Minnesota Home Ownership Center

Each of the four funding partners not only contribute financial resources they also actively participate in the grant-making process and provide technical assistance throughout the year.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for funding for programs in 2011 and 2012 (funding year runs from October 1st through September 30th) is NOW OPEN.  The deadline for applications is 5:00pm on Wednesday, June 1st.  This is a STRICT deadline.

For more information about HECAT, or to view the RFP and even lists of award recipients from previous years, visit the Minnesota Housing website... here.

Foreclosure Forum with Congressman Keith Ellison

Monday night October 5th, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center and its network of foreclosure prevention counselors were invited to participate in a public forum hosted by Representative Keith Ellison entitled "The Foreclosure Crisis: Identifying Problems and Sharing Solutions" that was held in Minneapolis.

The first hour of the forum included a resource fair where dozens of struggling homeowners were able to speak with the non-profit foreclosure specialists to help them determine their next steps.

During the next two hours, consumers and constituents heard from the Congressman, State Representatives, Housing Counselors and even lenders about what is being done to help struggling Minnesota families.


Here Congressman Keith Ellison introduces Cheryl Peterson from Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and Ed Nelson from the MN Home Ownership Center:

(Click to Enlarge)

Here Ed Nelson speaks about the new Foreclosure Postponement law in Minnesota. State Representative Jeff Hayden is on the right:

(Click to Enlarge)

Additional photos of the event can be found on the Center's photo gallery here.

Updated Fact Sheet: Mortgage Debt Forgiveness

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center has recently updated its Fact Sheet: "Mortgage Debt Forgiveness - Key Facts"

In late December 2007, Congress passed legislation changing the tax code relating to mortgage debt forgiveness. Ordinarily, debt forgiveness – including short sales, short refinances, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or other ways lenders forgive debt owed - counts as taxable income. The legislation from 2007, which was recently extended an additional three years (through 12/2012), changes the tax code, offering an exception specifically targeted for home mortgage debt forgiveness. Minnesota homeowners need to know that there are MANY stipulations in the legislation.

You can view a copy of the fact sheet here.

The Center has also produced a number of additional fact sheets on:

• "Homeowner Rights During the Redemption Period";
• "After a Foreclosure: Understanding Judgements";
• "Making Home Affordable" and many others.

These facts sheets are available to the public and can be freely downloaded from the Center's website.

The fact sheets can be found here and here.

They are also available in Spanish, here and here.

Center Participates in KFAI's Housing & Foreclosure Forum

This past Saturday, September 19th, as part of their "Strive to Thrive" series, radio station KFAI and the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder newspaper hosted a conference at the Sabathani Community Center focusing on issues surrounding the housing & mortgage foreclosures in the Twin Cities.

The Center, and several of our network partners, participated in the event.

Minneapolis City Councilwoman (Ward-9) Elizabeth Glidden opened the day:

(Click image to enlarge)

Cheryl Peterson, from Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, one of the Center's network partners in foreclosure prevention addressed the crowd:

(Click image to enlarge)

Here's the Center's booth/stand for the day:

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The event was videotaped... as soon as we have access to the video and/or audio of the day's presentations, we will update this post.

Minneapolis & St. Paul Mayors to Address MN Mortgage Association Convention

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak will offer lunch-hour remarks at the MMA Convention beginning at noon on September 10 at the Hyatt Downtown Minneapolis.

Additional information about the MMA Convention can be found at the MN Mortgage Association website here: http://www.themma.org

A limited number of passes for the lunch-hour remarks are available, on a first-come, first-served basis, for organizations that cannot afford the MMA Convention admission. If interested, please contact Keenan Raverty at: 612-209-2650.

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center will be participating in the convention... feel free to stop by booth #14 and introduce yourself!

Mpls Fed's 'Community Dividend' Highlights Home Stretch Provider

The most recent issue of the "Community Dividend" (Issue 3, 2009) highlights the "New Markets Mortgage Program" - a home financing (mortgage) product that replaces interest payments with a higher-priced markup of the purchase price - in order to certain religious prohibitions on the charging/paying of interest.

Additional information about the African Development Center, the MN Home Ownership Center's network partner, and the New Markets Mortgage Program (NMM), and can be found here.

Additional information about "Home Stretch" the pre-purchase training workshop that all NMM candidates are required to attend, click here.

Hennepin County Recieves Award from National Association of Counties

Hennepin County has been awarded a 2009 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for its Foreclosure Prevention and Response Program. Not only did the Foreclosure Prevention and Response Program win an Achievement Award, it also won this year's "Best In Category" award from NACo!

Here's a picture of just some of the people that have worked together on Hennepin County's award-winning efforts:

(Photo Courtesy of Hennepin County Public Affairs)

The award was granted for the outstanding efforts that Hennepin County has undertaken to assist homeowners that are facing foreclosure. The abstract from the award states:

... In response to the mortgage meltdown, commissioners formed a cross-departmental Foreclosure Task Force to focus on prevention, stabilization, and recovery. Among the Task Force’s chief recommendations was the creation of a lead staff person to serve as a central contact for county foreclosure information and resources. The county designated two staff members to implement the education and outreach of the Task Force’s recommendations which included the following: $1.25 million for the city-county initiative to remove vacant and boarded houses from severely impacted neighborhoods; the creation of a data center to improve the county’s ability to track the foreclosure issue and allow such data to be easily shared; the mailing of over 10,000 foreclosure information inserts in tax-delinquent notices to home-owners; and the creation of foreclosure mini-workshops for home owners and renters in Hennepin County. Thus far, over 200 people have attended the county’s twelve workshop seminars. Because tenants of properties are often unaware of the potential for foreclosure, many are left in vulnerable situations. The county’s effort to keep its residents informed and offer them financial counseling is a helpful tool that can reduce the amount of foreclosures and help to stabilize its communities.

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is pleased to be a partner of Hennepin County in their outreach efforts, we assisted in the creation of the foreclosure information inserts, and the mini-workshops for homeowners and renters.

Information about the materials that Hennepin County used to mail to delinquent taxpayers... and how these materials can be customized to reach YOUR consumers/constituents, click here.

For a list of upcoming workshops held at Hennepin County Libraries this fall, click here.

Center Launches Spanish-Language Website

¿Habla Español?

The MN Home Ownership Center is pleased to announce that its Spanish-Language website it up and running!

The Center assumed responsibility of the Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative earlier this year, and continues to strive to reach emerging markets homebuyers and owners with the launch of its website in Spanish.

In addition to the launch of the website, the Center has translated ALL of its fact-sheets, flyers and consumer alerts in Spanish as well!

You can visit the new site, here.

New Report Shows Decline in Foreclosures in MN

A report published this week, co-authored by the MN Home Ownership Center, shows there were 11,089 foreclosures in Minnesota at the end of the second quarter, compared to 13,591 during the same period last year. If this pace continues, Minnesota will see a 15% reduction in the number of foreclosures in Minnesota over last year. In 2008, there were 26,261 foreclosures in Minnesota, the highest number of foreclosures on record.

The report, titled “Foreclosures in Minnesota”, analyzes sheriff’s sale data, the primary means of identifying foreclosures, from all Minnesota Counties. Minnesota is unique among other states in the availability of current, comprehensive sheriff’s sale data.

While the exact reasons for the decline are unknown, it is likely the result of actions taken by lenders, homeowners and homeownership counselors rather than improved housing and economic conditions. On the lending side, many of the major lenders placed moratoriums on foreclosures in late 2008/early 2009 and more lenders are now working with homeowners to modify loans. In addition, the number of mortgages that are 60+days in default continues to climb. If a workout cannot be obtained with the lender, many of these homeowners may be forced into foreclosure, potentially driving up the foreclosure numbers in the second half of 2009.

This report, published since 2007, now includes QUARTERLY data - and shows year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter information for Minnesota foreclosures.

You can view the report, here.

Open Positions at MN Home Ownership Center

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is currently recruiting for TWO full-time positions.

1. The first position is for an Outreach and Communications Coordinator as an AmeriCorp member. Here is a brief overview of the position:

The primary tasks will be about: supporting consumer and community outreach with an emphasis on communities of color; developing tools to inform homeownership industry professionals and consumers about new programs and
funding sources for homeownership; and providing training and support to the
counseling agencies in the Center’s network.

Candidates interested in the Outreach and Communications Coordinator can visit a complete job description and application requirements at the MN Council of Non-profits job board here.

2. The second position, a full-time staff position at the Center, is for a Program Manager for Emerging Markets. Here is a brief overview of the position:

The Program Manager coordinates a variety of programming aimed at enhancing homeownership opportunities for communities of color with an emphasis on American Indians in Greater Minnesota. Provide technical assistance, training and other support to homeownership education and counseling pilot programs in Greater Minnesota. Coordinate outreach activities and events in partnership with the organization’s partner agencies. Lead activities of the organization's overall emerging markets programming.

Candidates interested in the Program Manager for Emerging Markets position can visit a complete job description and application requirements at the MN Council of Non-profits job board here.

The MN Home Ownership Center is an equal opportunity employer.


UPDATE: If you've gotten here from a link on the MN Home Ownership Center's website regarding the open positions, please feel free to check out the rest of our blog... it's chock full of information on affordable housing issues, housing research, homebuying, foreclosure prevention and much, much more. Read the full blog, here.

Network Thank-You Event in St. Cloud

Yesterday, August 5th, 2009, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center had the opportunity to thank almost 100 of our housing counselors and their managers at a special "Thank-You" event we hosted in St. Cloud: "Housing Counseling: Facing Challenges, Realizing Success"

The day started with an inspirational message from keynote speaker, Greg Risberg - who had the crowd laughing/crying/cheering for over an hour. Greg's message was "You're Making a Difference" - - a great message for the counselors, and Center staff, to hear!



You can hear/see much people enjoyed Greg's presentation here (video shot during one of his breakout/discussion points):

Greg's presentation was followed by a buffet lunch and then an afternoon of breakout sessions. The first round of breakout sessions included peer-led discussions on:

• Effective Negotiation Strategies for Working with Servicers
• Engaging Consumers in Pre-Purchase Counseling
• Transitioning Families Through Foreclosure
• Maximizing Home Stretch Workshops

The next round of breakout sessions included topics by local experts:

• Stephen Wreh-Wilson from the African Development Center spoke on: Immigrants, Communities and Regional Development: A Minnesota Perspective

• Kristin Fischer Rosel from the public Relations firm Himle Horner spoke on: Public Relations, Working Effectively with Local Media; and

• Michael Grover of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis spoke on: Today's Housing Market and Trends.

The day ended with an informal social hour with drinks and appetizers.

All-in-all it was an entertaining, refreshing and, of course, educational day! A HUGE thank-you to the statewide network of Housing Counselors - - you really are making a difference!

Additional Photos from the event will be available on our FlickR gallery shortly!

UPDATE: Photos are up on FlickR!!

Mid Year Foreclosure Counseling Numbers

In 2008, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center's network of foreclosure prevention specialists assisted a record number of struggling Minnesota Homeowners. As reported previously, the network assisted over 11,000 families.

HOWEVER, In 2009, if current numbers hold through the end of the year, the network should assist over 15,000 homeowners - - A STAGGERING 27% increase over 2008!

Through May 31, 2009, specialists had counseled 7,537 families!

Even with the increased difficulties facing homeowners due to the current economic climate, and the increased number of homeowners seeking assistance, the network of specialists are still doing AMAZING things for their clients. Of the cases that have been 'resolved' (how our data tracking software labels homeowners where the outcome of their situation is known or consumer has decided to no longer work with the counselor)... the results are nothing short of spectacular:

Percent of resolved cases where foreclosure was averted: 63.66%

Percent of resolved cases where foreclosure was not averted: 22.50%

Percent of resolved cases where outcome is unknown: 13.84%

Of those cases where foreclosure was averted... How was the homeowner able to avoid foreclosure? Through May 31:

By bringing payments current .......... 40%
By modifying the loan .......... 25%
By obtaining a Forbearance Agreement .......... 17%
By Short sale .......... 6%
By filing Bankruptcy.......... 3%
By other means .......... 8%

There are a few caveats with the number presented here... while the actual number of clients counseled year-to-date is a definitive number (7,537) the number of resolved cases will change over time, which will affect (probably downward) the percentage of foreclosures averted.

All data in this post should be considered 'draft information' until our year-end report that should be available in the first quarter of 2010.

Congratulations to our statewide network of counselors. They continue to work incredibly hard on behalf of Minnesota homeowners!

Twin Cities Pre-Foreclosure Notices

Minnesota State law (MN Statute 580.021) requires that the foreclosing party provide information regarding foreclosure prevention counseling services to the mortgager (homeowner) AND provide the homeowner’s name, address, and most recent known telephone number to an approved foreclosure prevention counseling agency - BEFORE filing the notice of pendency.

Once The Minnesota Home Ownership Center's network of foreclosure prevention agencies, recieves notification from the lender/servicer/homeowners association, they then contact the homeowner, and track the number of notifications received during the month in their monthly reporting to the Center.

The Center has decided to publish here on the blog the 7-County metro area numbers of pre-foreclosure notices that the network agencies have received. This will allow everyone to see upcoming trends in foreclosure numbers - as well as highlight the outstanding job that our network partners do to reach as many homeowners as possible.

The latest numbers do not show a slowdown in the number of pre-foreclosure notifications - and actually show that the trend-line continues to increase:

(Click on an image to see larger version)

Now, through the efforts of our counselors, lenders, servicers and the homeowners themselves, not all of the homeowners that receive a pre-foreclosure notice will necessarily be foreclosed upon - - but the numbers show that Minnesota is still far from seeing the end of its foreclosure crisis.

La Mera Buena - Summer Radio Campaign

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center and Minnesota Housing (Finance Agency) have produced a public service announcement on the Spanish language radio station: La Mera Buena (FM 107.5 / KBGY).

The message, read by on-air personality Mike Castillo, lets Spanish-speaking homeowners that may be struggling with their house payments about working the existence of FREE, non-profit foreclosure prevention services and warns them about working with for-profit agents that may not have their best interest in mind.

The text of the message (translated to English):

If you think you’re in danger of, or are already facing, foreclosure… you’re not alone. In Minnesota, there are services available to receive advice and assistance – FREE OF CHARGE – to help keep you from losing your home. Unfortunately, there are people who only want to take advantage of you in your situation, and they can actually make things even worse. If you need assistance, contact the MN Home Ownership Center at 651-659-9336 or MN Housing at 651-296-7975. And remember: Don’t let yourself be fooled. This message is sponsored by the MN Housing Finance Agency and the MN Home Ownership Center.

The message, which will run about 80 times over the summer, has already increased the volume of calls to the Center requesting information about foreclosure services.

You can hear the spot (MP3 Format), here.

MPR: Foreclosure is Even Harder for Single Women

As part of Minnesota Public Radio's ongoing series on foreclosures in Minnesota, Annie Baxter has broadcast a piece on the unique challenges facing single-female headed households facing foreclosure.

The piece, which first aired on Tuesday, June 16th and is now available online, includes some stats (graphic) on homebuyers, an interview with Ed Nelson from the Center, as well as a client that was assisted by the Neighborhood Development Alliance (NeDA) in St. Paul. NeDA is a member of the Center's network of foreclosure prevention providers.

The on-line article, including a link to the recorded broadcast, is here.

Knowing what to do when facing foreclosure - or struggling with mortgage payments - can be confusing whether you're a family or a single-parent. In Minnesota, there is a statewide network of FREE, NON-BIASED, non-profit organizations, like the Neighborhood Development Alliance, that can assist you. If you're struggling with mortgage payments, click here to find the agency that's closest to you and will best be able to help.

Minnesota's New Foreclosure Postponement Law

Effective today, June 15, 2009 Minnesota state law allows homeowners that have fallen behind on their mortgage payments to delay, or postpone, the Foreclosure Sale (also known as the “Sheriff’s Sale” or "Sheriff's Auction") of their home by five months.

If a homeowner chooses to do so, postponing the Foreclosure Sale would give them five more months to bring their mortgage current. The tradeoff, however, is that it also reduces the redemption period to just five weeks. (Standard MN redemption period - the amount of time AFTER a Sheriff's Sale that the homeowner can remain in the property and attempt to redeem it - is 6 months).

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center has created a fact sheet and sample affidavit to assist homeowners that might be interested in postponing their Foreclosure Sale. The FAQ covers the basic steps that need to be taken in order to postpone the sale.

The FAQ about Minnesota's Foreclosure Postponement Law and sample affidavit are available here.

Here’s a disclaimer regarding this information: the FAQ is provided as a service of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center and is not presented as legal advice. Homeowners should consult a competent legal professional for advice specific to their situation before deciding if postponement is right for them.

In addition, before deciding to delay or postpone a Foreclosure Sale, homeowners should consult with a foreclosure specialist to understand the pros and cons of a postponement, and to see if there are any other resources or assistance available to them. To find their local foreclosure specialist, homeowners should click here.

Center Partners Win Several Awards

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is pleased to partner with several award winning agencies and organizations that are working with us on our foreclosure prevention efforts to help keep Minnesota families in their homes:

Hennepin County:

Hennepin County has been honored by the National Association of Counties (NaCO) with a 2009 NaCO Achievement Award for the County's Foreclosure Prevention and Response Program. Not only was the County an award winner, but they were declared "Best In Category" for 2009. Congratulations to Jeff Strand (Administrative Supervisor Foreclosure Prevention & Response Program Tax-Forfeit & Property Revenue Program Taxpayer Services [That's quite a title, Jeff!]) for the award.

Hennepin County has worked with the Center at a number of levels from marketing and outreach to direct homeowner assistance through workshops at the County Libraries. For more information about upcoming workshops at the Hennepin County Libraries, click here.

If you live in Hennepin County and are having difficulty with a foreclosure or mortgage payments, click here.


City of St. Paul:

The City of St. Paul Planning and Economic Development Department - who not only partners with the Center on foreclosure prevention outreach efforts - but also oversees the foreclosure counseling program for City of St. Paul homeowners, was recently honored by the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators, winning TWO separate awards in the 2009 Northern Lights Contest.

Award of Excellence Presented For: Best Use of a Promotional Product
Don't Lose Your Home to Foreclosure

and

Award of Excellence Presented For Visual Design - Themes
Don't Lose Your Home to Foreclosure

Congratulations to Cecile Bedor, Michelle Vojacek and the entire St. Paul PED team for their award-winning, innovative approach to foreclosure outreach using magnetic bumper stickers on City-Owned vehicles.

If you live in the City of St. Paul, and are facing foreclosure or having difficulty with your mortgage payments, click here.

HopeNow - 800 MN Families Served!

Yesterday's HopeNow Borrower Workshop at the St. Paul RiverCentre was a complete success!

Dozens of volunteers worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran smoothly... nearly 30 non-profit foreclosure specialists met with hundreds of homeowners, dozens of social service agencies and assistance programs shared their programs with homeowners, and

Most importantly:

800 Minnesota Families were served!

We'll be following up in the next few days with testimonials/quotes, photos from the event - and information an the families served.

Even though the event has passed, the Center is leaving the event information on our website for a few days. Feel free to check out the list of participants, here.

The Center Earns Charities Review Council "Meets All Standards" Seal

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is proud to announce that it has been awarded the Charities Review Council “Meets All Standards” Seal indicating that it meets all sixteen of the Council’s Accountability Standards!

The Charities Review Council evaluates nonprofit organizations in Minnesota in four critical areas:

• Public Disclosure
• Governance
• Financial Activity, and
• Fundraising.

By participating in the evaluation/review, nonprofit organizations, like the Center, can demonstrate responsibility, integrity and transparency to their constituents, funders and partners.

The Center is pleased to be listed as a reviewed organization on the online Giving Guide of the Council’s Smart Givers Network, www.smartgivers.org and the Council’s Smart Giver newsletter distributed to more than 18,000 subscribers in Minnesota.

A detailed report on the Center's activities and the results of the Charities Review Council's Accountability Review can be found here: http://www.smartgivers.org/SmartGiversReview/411741817.html

We've added the "Meets All Standards" seal to the sidebar of the blog, which links to the Center's results page on the SmartGivers website.

UPDATE: Interested in financially supporting the Center? Visit our donation page here.

151 Radio Stations!

The radio actuality (similar to an audio/radio format press release) that the MN Home Ownership Center produced about the release of its 2008 Foreclosure Prevention Counseling Program Report was picked up by 151 radio stations throughout the state!

That is, without a doubt, a record for the Center!

If anyone was able to record any audio from any of the newscasts throughout the state... we'd love to hear them! You can send them to Ed Nelson here at the Center: ed@hocmn.org

You can listen to the Radio Actuality, HERE.

The entire 2008 report - and lots of other supplemental information - is available on the Center's website, HERE.