HUD Homes / VA Homes News

Renting is so hard in part because there is a noose closing around the housing opportunities of New Orleans for African-American renters displaced by Katrina. They have been openly and directly targeted by public and private actions designed to keep them away. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) just added their weight to the attack by approving the demolition of 2,966 apartments in New Orleans. More...

The largest homebuyer assistance program run by the U.S. government will ban a popular form of downpayment under new rules, the head of the program said on Friday.

Under the new rules downpayments "cannot be derived from sellers directly or indirectly or any other party that benefits financially," Brian Montgomery, the Federal Housing Administration chief, told reporters in a conference call. More...

HUD told a federal judge ... "the average time [for the process of reviewing applications for demolition] is 100 days." They did suggest that the process could be expedited in the case of New Orleans. So it was. Instead of reviewing the details of demolishing 3,000 apartments and considering the law and facts and the administrative record for 100 days, HUD expedited the process to one day. More...

Seniors can take advantage of subsidized housing, commonly known as Section 8, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seniors won't have to go far away from family or community of preference because they can choose any city in the state. The online HUD database can search by ZIP code or city where subsidized housing is available at www.hud.gov, or call or visit the local HUD office listed on the website or in the phone book. More...

he default rate on U.S. mortgages is stabilizing, an American housing official said Monday, adding she didn't expect last week's cut in U.S. interest rates to significantly affect the number of defaults.

Speaking on the sidelines of a forum in Singapore, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary Darlene Williams said the U.S. Federal Reserve's bigger than-expected half-point cut of its key rate last week signaled that authorities were taking action to support the economy. More...

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has begun an investigation in response to a complaint filed by resident leaders in Atlanta regarding the Atlanta Housing Authority’s plans to demolish all Atlanta public housing, Atlanta Progressive News has learned. More...

The Internal Revenue Service and Department of Housing and Urban Development are sponsoring a free Web cast on October 11, 2-4 p.m. EST, to provide an overview of tax incentives for Renewal Communities and Empowerment Zones and updates on changes to these incentives.

A panel of IRS experts will address employment credits, work opportunity tax credits, commercial revitalization deductions, increased Section 179 deductions, and other incentives worth billions of dollars.

Registration is required by October 5, 2007 at OCRTaxCredit@hud.gov.

RealPlayer is required for viewing the Web cast at: http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/schedule.

Viewers can visit this Web site in advance to download a free updated version of this software and to test the audio and video on their computers while viewing a portion of any archived HUD Web cast.

The Housing and Urban Development Department has awarded a $42.6 million contract to G&B Solutions of McLean, Va., to provide program management services and institutionalize program management approaches departmentwide. More...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will take control of the rental assistance program for Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita victims from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as of Nov. 1, FEMA officials said Tuesday.

According to a press release from FEMA, the transition comes as a result of an agreement between HUD and FEMA under which “HUD will administer a pilot program to provide temporary long-term housing rental assistance and case management for Katrina/Rita households.” The Disaster Housing Assistance Program, or DHAP, will be administered by HUD to all families that are currently receiving rental assistance from FEMA. More...

Most home buyers have heard of government-sponsored VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) and FHA (Federal Housing Administration) low-down-payment home loans. But they aren't suitable for many home buyers, especially if you are not a veteran or home prices are too high in your city. If you want to buy a house or condominium but can't obtain a VA or FHA mortgage and are "cash challenged" with only a small down payment, PMI lenders loan 90, 95, 97, 100 and even 103 percent of a home's purchase price. PMI insures the riskiest top 20 percent of conventional mortgages in case of a foreclosure loss to the lender. More...

A rush of repossessions and foreclosures also means business because it is attracting a growing group of buyers: Blue-collar and middle-income workers and retirees seeking to find a house at a very low price. More...

“They are coming out of the woodwork,” said Myrna Pascual, a former Legal Aid attorney who serves as acting field office director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Diego. “People have to be careful about where they get their advice.” More...

The small corner house sitting vacant across the street from Lori Camplin in the Sterling Heights subdivision, just off South Ninth Street, worries her some. No one has lived in the house for nearly a year, she says. While it beats having a noisy neighbor, an empty house raises other kinds of concerns. More...