Today Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that $50 million in housing counseling and counseling training grants that will go out to nearly 400 national state and local agencies.  The counseling grants will assist families in becoming first time homeowners and remain homeowners after their purchase.  A portion of the grants will help fund reverse mortgage counseling for seniors too.”These critical counseling grants not only help to put people into homes, but they help to keep them there as well,” said Preston. “Housing counseling organizations will continue to help families make more informed choices before they purchase a home and counsel families facing foreclosure. Now, more than ever, it is critical that Americans better understand how to manage their money, navigate the homebuying process, and securing their financial future.”According to the press release the counseling agencies will use $4 million to help assist senior citizens seeking reverse mortgages or Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM).  In certain parts of the country seniors have been struggling to receive counseling if they are unable to afford it so this should help a bit.  HUD awards annual grants under the housing counseling program through a competitive process. Organizations that apply for grants must be HUD-approved and are subject to biennial performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved status.To see a state-by-state breakdown of grant recipients is available on the HUD website.  Detailed individual grant summaries are available on the HUD website.

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