A $1 billion federal program to help distressed homeowners in much of the country mainly helped people in just three states and very few in some others, government data show.
Renzo Salazar places a bank owned sign on top of a for sale sign by a foreclosed home in Miami on Oct. 13.
By Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Renzo Salazar places a bank owned sign on top of a for sale sign by a foreclosed home in Miami on Oct. 13.
By Joe Raedle,
Renzo Salazar places a bank owned sign on top of a for sale sign by a foreclosed home in Miami on Oct. 13.
Almost half the homeowners aided by the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program are in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut, based on preliminary figures from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As previously reported, the program closed to applicants on Sept. 30 with more than half of its $1 billion unspent. Leftover funds return to the U.S. Treasury.
Fewer than 12,000 applicants were approved before the program expired, short of the 30,000 target.
Funds were allotted for 32 states and Puerto Rico based on population and unemployment.
Not only was much money unspent, but what was spent exceeded targets in some states and was well below them in others.
•Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut were initially allotted $179 million, but received $46 million more because they used up their initial funds, HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan says.
Homeowner help
Places with the most homeowners receiving preliminary loan approval under the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program:
State
Homeowners
Pennsylvania
3,053
Maryland
1,444
Connnecticut
1,070
Texas
876
Massachusetts
568
Puerto Rico
468
Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD allowed those states, along with Delaware and Idaho, to run their own programs because they already had similar ones. HUD ran the program for the other states and contracted with housing counseling agencies to process applicants.
•HUD initially expected almost 22,000 homeowners to get help in the other 27 states and Puerto Rico. WHAT??? I'm sure I'm missing something with that one. Only 27% of that goal was reached, preliminary numbers show.
Puerto Rico fared best. With funds to help 652 homeowners, it got 468 preliminary approvals, or 72%. South Dakota hit 52% of its maximum allocation.
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http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2011-11-20/homeowner-aid-program/51323662/1
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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