November 30, 2012
The FHA and HUD have issued yet another Hurricane Sandy press release, this time announcing assistance for home owners in West Virginia affected by Hurricane Sandy.
According to HUDNo.12-181, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced that FHA/HUD will “speed federal disaster assistance to the State of West Virginia in addition to resources being provided by FEMA and other federal partners. HUD will provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to Hurricane Sandy.”
On Wednesday November 28, 2012, President Obama issued a disaster declaration for the following West Virginia counties:
Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lewis, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Raleigh, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, Webster, and Wyoming. This federal disaster zone declaration allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance.
“Families who may have been forced from their homes need to know that help is available to begin the rebuilding process,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Whether it’s foreclosure relief for families with FHA-insured loans or helping these counties to recover, HUD stands ready to help in any way we can.”
The relief to counties affected by the declaration include immediate foreclosure relief. According to the FHA press release, “HUD granted a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages”
There is also mortgage insurance available for disaster victims in the affected counties. The FHA/HUD official site states the Section 203(h) program “provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and are facing the daunting task of rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers from participating FHA-approved lenders are eligible for 100 percent financing, including closing costs”.
There is also assistance in the form of FHA loans for mortgages and home rehab. The Section 203(k) loan program “enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home”.
For more information on these programs, visit the FHA official site at FHA.gov.
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