Freddie Mac has announced $10.5 million in grants to housing counseling organizations to use for their outreach, education and foreclosure-prevention efforts to help borrowers.
Freddie Mac says the grants will enable the nonprofit organizations to add and train staff, pay operational expenses and support outreach campaigns to borrowers having difficulty making their mortgage payments, especially subprime borrowers. The organizations were selected for their abilities to educate and advise borrowers about their foreclosure options and/or help them obtain workouts from their mortgage servicers.
The largest share of the funds will be administered through the HOPE NOW Alliance in grants totaling more than $6 million. Of that amount, approximately two-thirds is allocated for HOPE NOW's counseling, operations and outreach, with the remaining funds earmarked for organizations including Enterprise Community Partners, NeighborWorks America, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and HomeFree USA.
The $10.5 million in funding disbursements is the result of the November settlement between the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and former Freddie Mac CEO Leland Brendsel.
