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Message from Shaun Donovan, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Foreclosure scams are destructive, deceptive, and devastating to families who are fighting to survive. We have families on the edge of foreclosure that are being offered relief too good to be true, and we at HUD will take every possible measure to educate and protect consumers and homeowners, bring these scams to light, and prevent con artists from exploiting the housing crisis. There are legitimate people, places, and agencies that American families can turn to when they are facing foreclosure, and many of you are working on these efforts.

I would like to make the attached flyer available to you for distribution to your clients. It is a printable, easy-to-copy one pager detailing how consumers can access President Obama’s housing plan for FREE. We are distributing the flyer nationwide today to all of our housing partners—our HUD field offices and staff, housing authorities, state and local agencies, and non-profit organizations. This and other targeted outreach efforts will help us reach out directly to communities hard-hit by foreclosure about the legitimate foreclosure assistance available to them.

For the homeowners fighting hard to make their mortgage payments and stay in their homes, our housing plan—the Making Home Affordable Plan—will help up to 9 million Americans. Making Home Affordable will work in concert with the President’s Recovery Act and support a recovery in the housing market. Our plan is helping families in three ways. First, we are protecting housing opportunities for all Americans by taking action Administration-wide to reduce interest rates, which are now at historic lows. Second, we will assist 4 to 5 million homeowners who can’t otherwise take advantage of today’s historically low mortgage interest rates. Lastly, we have committed up to $75 billion to help an additional 3 to 4 million homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure modify their unaffordable mortgages into affordable ones. These three planks of our housing plan will keep American families in their homes and prevent the falling home prices that result from nearby foreclosures. These three planks of our housing plan will keep American families in their homes and prevent the falling home prices that result from nearby foreclosures.

Homeowners NEVER have to pay to participate in the President’s Making Home Affordable program. I encourage anyone trying to modify or refinance their loans to a monthly mortgage payment that is affordable to visit the Making Home Affordable website at makinghomeaffordable.gov. Homeowners can also call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE for free foreclosure counseling assistance.

April is National Fair Housing Month. It’s important, in that context, to recognize that the economic and housing crises, including foreclosure scams, have disproportionately impacted minority populations across the country. Unscrupulous financial institutions, brokers, and others have broken their trust as lenders, cheating and lying to families fighting to make their way through this crisis. I will renew our commitment at HUD to fair housing enforcement, particularly for lending violations that target minority communities. As part of our broader effort to combat abuse and fraud, HUD is using new tools, including the SAFE Act and RESPA, to protect American families. We at HUD will ensure that all Americans, particularly those in areas previously victimized by unscrupulous practices, are protected and will enforce our laws against those who prey upon them.

I hope that you will find the attached flyer useful in your outreach to consumers about the President’s Making Home Affordable plan.
Shaun Donovan, Secretary

Alert - Don’t Become a Victim of Mortgage Scams Affordable

The Obama Administration recently announced the Making Home Affordable Program, designed to assist up to nine million American families refinance or modify their loans to a monthly mortgage payment that is more affordable. Due to the over¬whelming interest in the plan, homeowners are increasingly becoming the target of scammers trying to take advantage of families with false promises and steep fees to provide foreclosure assistance. With President Obama’s plan, a homeowner NEVER has to pay to participate in the program. If you wish to obtain counseling assistance, HUD urges you to contact a local HUD-approved housing counseling agency to en¬sure they are receiving legitimate information.

D Counseling Agencies

HUD counseling agencies are designed to provide advice to consumers on:

• Buying a home
• Renting a home
• Loan defaults
• Foreclosures
• Credit Issues
• Reverse mortgages

Where to Turn

Making Home Affordable
www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

HUD Approved Counselor
www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/

HUD
www.hud.gov

HUD Housing Counseling
800-569-4287

Hope Now
888-995-4673

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission works for the consumer to pre¬vent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. If you feel you have been a victim of a foreclosure scam, to file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, contact: www. ftc.gov or 877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382- 4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261

4/21/2009

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