By: Charles Grice
As part of its ongoing efforts to assist families and individuals with housing needs and in order to help prevent future foreclosures, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced more than $40 million in housing counseling grants.
These grants will be provided across the country, to over 330 national, regional and local organizations that work with homeowners in distress.
As a result of these HUD grants and the funding they help provide, more than 1.6 million households enjoy a greater opportunity to find housing, make more informed choices about their housing options or keep their current residences.
HUD studies have shown the effectiveness of such housing counseling opportunities. In 2012, HUD released two reports on the impact of HUD-approved housing counseling for home buyers who purchase their first homes and those struggling to prevent foreclosure. Across both studies, the agency found that housing counseling significantly improved the likelihood that families would remain in their homes.