Laurie Maggiano, policy director for the U. S. Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office, says many people continue to be left out of the housing recovery, and if fact are still struggling, and how the Obama administration hopes to change that. A partnership between the Treasury and NeighborWorks America will reach out through the Making Homes Affordable Program to assist homeowners in submitting documents to their servicers at no charge. The Dept. of Labor is encouraging their centers around the country to inform unemployed homeowners of foreclosure prevention options. In addition, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will establish the Housing Counseling Office set in motion by Dodd-Frank to provide information on avoiding foreclosure, as well as basic homeownership programs. As HousingWire informs MHProNews, Maggiano says from 2007 to 2012, for those with a FICO score over 780, new home purchases dropped 30 percent. During that same time, new home sales fell 90 percent for those with scores between 620 and 680, often first-time home buyers and those who have recently been hit with unemployment.
