NAR and Center for Responsible Lending Partner to Stop Mortgage Abuse

A recent study concludes that more than 2 million sub-prime mortgage loans that lenders made during the real estate boom years will go into foreclosure, putting at risk $164 billion in accumulated wealth, according to a new study from the Center for Responsible Lending. One in five households with a subprime mortgage now faces losing its home.

The nation’s Realtors^® can help keep borrowers from getting locked into bad loans, including the often confusing array of nontraditional, or specialty, mortgages now on the market, by educating them about their alternatives. That’s why the National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) partnered with the Center to educate consumers about a variety of topics including nontraditional/specialty mortgages, traditional mortgages, and predatory lending. As part of this comprehensive approach to inform consumers, NAR has released four new brochures to aid in the mortgage-selection process. The brochures offer insight into the opportunities and potential pitfalls associated with specialty, traditional and FHA mortgages, and the dangers of some lending practices that take advantage of consumers. Information on downloading or ordering the brochures can be found by clicking on one of the links below or by visiting www.realtor.org.

Specialty (Non-Traditional) Mortgages: What are the Risks and Advantages?
Traditional Mortgages: Understanding Your Options
Learn About FHA Mortgages
How to Avoid Predatory Lending

Mortgage-Trapped
Washington Post, January 14, 2007

To read article click here >>.

MORTGAGES; Storm Clouds Over Risky Loans
The New York Times, January 7, 2007

To read article click here >>.

The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to protecting homeownership and family wealth by working to eliminate abusive financial practices. To learn more, visit their website at: www.responsiblelending.org.

Housing America’s Workforce

Employers across America struggle with the same problem: the attraction and retention of talented employees. In addition to salary and benefit packages that have traditionally been large draws for prospective workers, the cost of living in the workplace community has become an increasingly important determining factor. To address the issue, employers across the country have begun to take a novel approach to alleviate this concern by developing employer-assisted housing programs. While these plans are often customized, they have the same goal in mind: help employees become homeowners.

The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) is working with state associations of Realtors^® across the United States on a campaign designed to work with employers to develop these benefits for their employees. Under the Home from Work^TM program, NAR provides free technical assistance to employers interested in developing a customized plan that helps them offer these benefits and achieve business goals. Home from Work^TM provides Realtors^® an opportunity to participate in outreach and education efforts in their local communities to help their neighbors achieve the dream of homeownership. By providing these benefits to their employees, employers can achieve reduced turnover, increased morale and a strengthened link to the community. To learn more about the Home from Work^TM program, click here or contact National Association of Realtors^® staff at (202) 383-7560.

In many communities, public employees like teachers, police officers and firefighters find themselves on the outside looking in, unable to afford housing near their jobs. To help create new workforce housing opportunities, the National Association of Realtors^® and the U.S. Conference of Mayors joined together to launch the “Ambassador for Cities” initiative in early 2003. The goal of this partnership is to increase the number of affordable housing units in the rental and ownership segments of the market in a specific community. As the first point of contact for new residents and potential homeowners, Realtors^® play a critical role in locating housing opportunities.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles became the 13th Ambassador City. In partnership with the Beverly Hills Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors^®, Los Angeles hosted a summit in late January (“Keeping our Workforce Close to Home - Everyone Working Together”) to educate the public and Realtor^® groups about available homebuyer education and assistance programs. Since the inception of the program, these Realtor^®/city partnerships have created housing opportunities. Examples include Charlottesville, Virginia’s creation of a “workforce housing fund” to help teachers, firefighters, nurses and police officers buy a home; the “Art in Architecture” program in Orlando where builders and Realtors^® work together to build and sell affordable homes; and Nashville’s advertising “blitz” which directed consumers to homeownership programs. read more >>.

Following the tragedies caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the House Financial Services Committee is considering proposals to enhance the nation’s ability to respond in the event of another disaster. The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) recently submitted a statement praising the committee for focusing on federal response and for renewing the important discussion of disaster preparedness. NAR advocates the creation of a comprehensive natural disaster insurance policy for homeowners, reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program, and adequate funding for FEMA’s flood map modernization program. [PDF] read more >>