Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez of Brooklyn reports that the recent comprehensive housing bill approved by the House of Representatives included an initiative of hers that makes legal counseling services more accessible for distressed homeowners and tenants in foreclosed properties.
This assistance comes in the form of a $30 million grant program targeting the nation’s hardest hit areas and low-income homeowners. With the funding, legal service providers will have the expanded capacity to reach more homeowners and tenants to provide them with sound legal advice.
Velázquez, as the city’s senior member on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, has been working to ensure that Brooklyn neighborhoods are not weakened by foreclosures and city residents have access to important counseling services.
“With nearly 700 homes in foreclosure in my district alone, it’s clear that our neighbors need help,” she said. “Homeowners deserve to have someone on their side during the home buying process. Through education and legal assistance we can stem the tide of foreclosures.”
Velázquez continued, “The mortgage crisis impacts all of us. Families have lost their homes, millions more are on the brink of foreclosure and homeowners have seen their property values plummet. We have taken an important step to help New Yorkers stay in their homes and get our economy back on track.”
H.R. 3221, “The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008,” passed by a vote of 272-152. The comprehensive bill allows hard-working families in danger of losing their home to refinance into lower-cost, government-insured mortgages — at no cost to the taxpayer. The legislation also provides resources to allow cities and states to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed properties, expands homeownership opportunities for veterans, provides tax breaks to spur home buying and creates a new fund to boost the nation’s stock of affordable rental housing.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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