www.hudclips.org 


U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Washington, D.C. 20410-8000

June 27, 1996
 
MORTGAGEE LETTER 96-28
 
TO:  ALL APPROVED MORTGAGEES
 
ATTENTION:  SINGLE FAMILY SERVICING MANAGERS
 
SUBJECT:  Housing Counseling Toll Free Referral Service and Agency List
          Revision to Mortgagee Letter 96-9
 
   The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a toll-free housing
counseling telephone referral service at 1-800-569-4287.  The purpose of this
service is to provide potential homebuyers, current homeowners and renters
with the names and telephone numbers of their nearest HUD approved housing
counseling agencies.
 
The features of this toll-free number include:
 
     o    Counseling referrals in both English and Spanish
 
     o    Automated referrals for touch tone callers by ZIP code
 
     o    Operator assistance for rotary telephone callers provided from
          10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST, 7 days a week
 
     o    TDD service for the hearing impaired available at 1-800-358-6216
 
     Services provided by housing counseling agencies include:  first-time
homebuyer information, mortgage default and delinquency counseling, reverse
mortgage (HECM) counseling, financial management and property maintenance
guidance.  The Department especially encourages all mortgagees to refer
borrowers who are delinquent in their mortgage payments to this toll free
housing counseling referral service.
 
     The Internet address for the Housing Counseling Agency List announced in
Mortgagee Letter 96-9 has changed due to the explosive growth of the
information provided on the Department's World Wide Web Site.  The housing
counseling agency directory can be viewed on the World Wide Web in two ways.
In order to view the list from the HUD Home Page, access via
HTTP://WWW.HUD.GOV, then:
 
     1.   Click on "About HUD"
     2.   Under HUD Programs, Click on "Housing"
     3.   Under Single Family Housing, Click on "HUD Housing Counseling: List
          of Agencies"
 
The list can also be viewed directly from the web site of the Department's
contractor (Aspen Systems) which is located at HTTP://WWW.ASPENSYS.COM/HCC/.
If you are using a web browser (such as Netscape) it is strongly recommended
that you bookmark the agency list for future reference.  Bookmarking will
ensure that you can find the list should the HUD Home Page format be updated
again.
 
     This letter supersedes Mortgagee Letter 96-9, issued February 21, 1996.
Any questions concerning this mortgagee letter should be directed to the local
HUD Office.
 
Sincerely yours,
 

Nicolas P. Retsinas
Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Federal Housing Commissioner