HUD Lines

PRESIDENT LAUNCHES FHASecure
Telling an August 31st White House press conference that “there are many American homeowners who could get through this difficult time with a little flexibility from their lenders, or a little help from their government,” President Bush has announced that HUD's Federal Housing Administration will help some 240,000 families avoid foreclosure under a new FHASecure program that, effective immediately, will allow families with strong credit histories who had been making timely mortgage payments before their loans reset between June 2005 and December 2009 -but are now in default-to qualify for FHA refinancing. Beginning January 1st, FHA also will implement risk-based premiums that match the borrower's credit profile with the insurance premium they pay-i.e., riskier borrowers pay more. For more, visit www.hud.gov or www.fha.gov.

FUNDING-MENTALS
Join HUD Richmond for a free “A-B-C’s of Grantwriting. . .and MORE” workshop October 16th through 18th at the Bethel Center, 614 North 3rd Street, in Richmond. Space is very limited. So register NOW with anne.davis@hud.gov or call her at (800) 842-2610, extension 4802.

HERE’S YOUR CHANCE. . .
To nominate your choice for Virginia’s Best Housing Development, Best Housing Program or Service, Best Housing Organization and Best Housing Preservation/Rehabilitation Effort to be honored with a Virginia Housing Award at the Governor’s Housing Conference November 15th in Roanoke. Submit nominations to DHCD’s shea.hollifield@dhcd.virginia.gov by September 28th.

BRIEF BRIEFS
Applications due September 26th for Appalachian Regional Commission Area Development, Asset-Based Development and Telecommunications Initiative funds. . .DPOR moves to 9960 Mayland Drive in Richmond. .
E-mail kelly.gill-gordon@vhda.com to attend September 25h Foreclosure Prevention Summit in Charlottesville. . .Chesapeake Redevelopment & Housing’s Brenda Willis elected President of VAHCDO. . .H.O.M.E. hosting free showing of “Maxed Out” at Richmond’s Byrd Theater September 18th. . .Bristol Redevelopment & Housing breaks ground on $4 million, 26-unit Sapling Grove duplexes for elderly and persons with disabilities. . .Lenowisco PDC, New River Valley Development Corporation and Virginia Tech win USDA grants to “to increase economic opportunities”. . .Danville launches begins rehabbing rundown houses under newly-approved HUD Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy. .Charlottesville REALTORFest set for September 8th and Virginia Peninsula REALTORFest set for September 27th . . .Governor Kaine names Tonye Epps, Martin Maples, David Rubinstein, Robert Ruais Neil Bhatt and Stephen McMaster to Fair Housing Board and Anthony Clatterbuck and Rebecca Villalpando to Board for Housing & Community Development. . .Call (804) 343-2045 to attend Homeward hosting Best Practices Conference September 12th in Richmond . . .Roanoke Valley Habitat starts 151st home. . .HUD awards $40 million in capital and replacement housing factor funds to Virginia housing authorities.

DITTO
In July Anthony Gross, Jack Bradley and Jose Jackson rushed into a burning apartment to save a mother and youngsters they thought were inside. “We don’t expect or encourage any resident to risk their own safety in emergencies,” Bristol housing authority said in its newsletter, but “it’s only right to give thanks for the unexpected courage and generosity” and “their genuine concern for their neighbors and neighborhood”.

WHAT THE HECK. . .
Some 8,000 older Virginians have used FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage – a reverse mortgage – to help finance their “golden years.” Want to know more? Join HUD Richmond’s “What the Heck is HECM?” tele-tutorial September 18th. Register with leland.jones@hud.gov.

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
Effective August 15th, nonprofits seeking to become or recertify for FHA approval must apply on-line. . .Radford and Beans & Rice unveil plans for neighborhood center with USDA Rural Development funds. . .LISC Virginia and Workforce Homes host September 25th session in Richmond on Land Use, Transportation & Housing Affordability . .Congressman Virgil Goode announces $176,000 USDA grant to Franklin Center for Advanced Learning in Rocky Mount for fiber-optic job training. . .F.O.R.Kids’ Tom Steffe wins President’s Volunteer Service Award for starting a sports program for homeless kids. . .Virginia Supportive Housing’s Alice Tousignant, Highland Park Community Development’s Wallica Gaines, Better Housing Coalition’s T.K. Somanath, NeighborWorks’ Marcia Reid Woody and Mountain Shelter’s Andy Kegley picked for Excellence in Community Development Program at Harvard. . .Habitat Winchester completes first Clarke County house. . .U.S. Green Building picks Arlington, Charlottesville, Fairfax, Ft. Belvoir and Vienna projects for LEED pilot projects. . .Virginia Association of Counties Achievement Awards go to Fairfax County for tax relief outreach and Prince William County for universal design education and neighborhood-based code enforcement. . .APVA hosts preservation conference September 21st to 25th in Staunton. . .VANNO offering group health insurance to nonprofits. . .Judeo-Christian Outreach Center breaks ground for 22-unit complex for homeless vets and persons with disabilities in Virginia Beach. . .Virginia Supportive Housing and Genieve Shelter win Beazley Foundation grants. . .Virginia Beach CDC completes renovation of Atlantis Manor. . .ARC “Back to Basics – Investing in & Improving Appalachia’s Infrastructure” conference set for October 24th to 25th in Charleston, West Virginia. . .Treasury seeking applications, due October 31st, for grants of up to $2 million to Community Development Financial Institutions “creating demonstrable community development impact” using “credit capital” in existing or new “target areas”. . .HUD Webcast on New Construction – Energy Star, Green Building & Beyond set for September 13th.

CONGRATS. . .
To Constance Battle, a kitchen manager who’s raising three grandkids who just bought her first house. “I worked for it,” she told The Times Dispatch, saving through Richmond housing authority’s Family Self Sufficiency and the State’s VIDA savings match programs. She’s the first VIDA homebuyer in the Richmond area and its 23rd in Virginia since 2005.

REHABI-TOLOGY
Register on-line at https://dmz1.dhcd.virginia.gov/rehabworkshop/ for DHCD’s 2007 Housing Rehabilitation Workshop October 10th to 12th in Virginia Beach on CDBG and Indoor Pluming rehab policies and procedures as well as a 20-hour rehab specialist training course.

DON'T FORGET
Hopefully hurricanes will spare Virginia this year. Still, it’s worth remembering that, in the event of a Presidentially-declared disaster, HUD has a range of flexible resources to speed recovery. For details, visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/dri/assistance.cfm.

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