U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
                  Washington, D.C. 20410-8000
 
                         April 28, 1998
 
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
FOR HOUSING-FEDERAL HOUSING COMMISSIONER
 
                                                        TI- 467
 
TO:  ALL APPROVED TITLE I LENDERS
 
SUBJECT:  Change in Procedure to Notify Lenders About Special
          Title I Assistance to Victims in Presidentially
          Declared Major Disaster Areas
 
     This Title I Letter announces the Department's modified procedure for
notifying Title I lenders of Presidentially-Declared major disaster areas.
 
     Effective the date of this letter, the Department will cease issuing
separate Title I Letters for each disaster declaration.  Rather, when the
President declares a disaster, the lender must check with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to obtain the specific affected counties
and corresponding declaration dates.  This information can be obtained from
the FEMA website or by contacting the FEMA office in the affected areas.
The FEMA website is located at http://www.fema.gov/disasters.
 
     We would like to remind lenders that any time a disaster is
Presidentially-Declared, the special provisions contained in 24 CFR 201.54
related to existing Title I loans and 24 CFR 201.20(b)(3) related to
new Title I loans are automatically in effect and remain in effect
for one year from the date of each Presidentially-Declared major
disaster area.  Utilization of the procedures is not dependent on the
issuance of a TI Letter.
 
     If you have any questions about this letter, please either write
to Maurice D. Gulledge, Chief, Home Improvement Branch, 451 Seventh Street,
SW, Room 9272, Washington, DC 20410-8000, call 202-708-6396 or email to
homeimpr@hud.gov.
 
                              Sincerely yours,
 
                              Art Agnos
                              Acting General Deputy Assistant Secretary
                                for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner