WH announces $2B for bridge loans for unemployed homeowners and $1B for HUD for same-HEMAP…

Update 4: Yves at NakedCapitalism sums up this latest plan beautifully:

…How is this supposed to help borrowers? Seriously. This is the government equivalent of a subprime teaser loan. But this is even worse. First, teaser borrowers paid at least a smidge of interest (even 2% is more than zero), which placed a teeny constraint on their ability to take on debt. Second, housing was at least appearing to increase, so it wasn’t entirely nuts (merely sorta nuts) to look to the principal value of the house as security and reason to extend yourself financially….

…This measure, as modest as it is, therefore looks like yet another backdoor transfer to banks, and a way to try to prop up housing prices (note the “stabilize housing markets” comment) and secondarily, funnel some cash to communities (note the loans are intended to be used for property tax payments too)….

Update 3: So how does D.C. make the ‘hardest hit’ list and not frakking Arizona??? UNBELIEVABLE!!!

The states eligible to receive funds through this additional assistance, along with allocations based on their population sizes, are as follows:

Alabama	$60,672,471
California	$476,257,070
Florida	$238,864,755
Georgia	$126,650,987
Illinois	$166,352,726
Indiana	$82,762,859
Kentucky	$55,588,050
Michigan	$128,461,559
Mississippi	$38,036,950
Nevada	$34,056,581
New Jersey	$112,200,638
North Carolina	$120,874,221
Ohio	$148,728,864
Oregon	$49,294,215
Rhode Island	$13,570,770
South Carolina	$58,772,347
Tennessee	$81,128,260
Washington, DC	$7,726,678

HUD Emergency Homeowners Loan Program

This new program will complement Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund by providing assistance to homeowners in hard hit local areas that may not be included in the hardest hit target states. Those areas are still being determined.

The program will work through a variety of state and non-profit entities and will offer a declining balance, deferred payment “bridge loan” (zero percent interest, non-recourse, subordinate loan) for up to $50,000 to assist eligible borrowers with payments on their mortgage principal, interest, mortgage insurance, taxes and hazard insurance for up to 24 months.

Under the program, eligible borrowers must:

1. Be at least three months delinquent in their payments and have a reasonable likelihood of being able to resume repayment of their mortgage payments and related housing expenses within two years;
2. Have a mortgage property that is the principal residence of the borrower, and eligible borrowers may not own a second home;
3. Demonstrate a good payment record prior to the event that produced the reduction of income.

HUD will announce additional details, including the targeted communities and other program specifics when the program is officially launched in the coming weeks.

Update: More:
HUDNo.10-176/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR TARGETED FORECLOSURE-PREVENTION PROGRAMS TO HELP HOMEOWNERS STRUGGLING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT
Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund Will Provide $2 Billion of Additional Assistance in 17 states and the District of Columbia; HUD to Launch a New $1 Billion Program to Help Unemployed Borrowers in Other Areas

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced additional support to help homeowners struggling with unemployment through two targeted foreclosure-prevention programs. Through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (the Hardest Hit Fund), the U.S. Department of the Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available for HFA programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will soon launch a complementary $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program to provide assistance – for up to 24 months – to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure and have experienced a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition.

Here we go. We have written up the HEMAP model before see here.

Breaking News: HUD To Offer Interest-Free Loans To Distressed Homeowners http://tinyurl.com/32hqygp

BN   8:30 *HUD WILL OFFER INTEREST-FREE LOANS TO DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS
BN   8:30 *HUD ANNOUNCES HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN PRESS RELEASE TODAY