Michigan to offer $154M in U.S. aid to borrowers
July 15, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
By GRETA GUEST FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER Michigan’s plan to spend $154.5 million in federal funds to help those hardest hit by the economy has gained federal approval and will be available starting July 12. The funds – targeted at helping borrowers facing pay cuts or job losses keep their homes – are expected to aid more than 17,000 Michigan households. Until then, Michigan State Housing Development Authority officials will educate banks and credit unions about the process of evaluating borrowers for the program. Borrowers must apply with their lenders to take advantage of the lifeline, which will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. • FAQs: Answers about the new homeowner help. State officials say they’ll tell borrowers within 48 hours if they qualify for one of the program’s three options: • Mortgage payment assistance for homeowners now receiving unemployment compensation. The state would provide half of the monthly mortgage payment up to $750 a month...
Recently Aired Video From Dateline About Detroit
April 20, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Detroit: City of Heartbreak And Hope Chris Hansen Goes Home To Detroit Cleaning Up Detroit From The Bottom Up Detroit Parent Keeps Kids On The Right Track In Detroit, “The Best Is All Gone” Kid Rock On Detroit The “Ghost Town” Artists Transform Detroit Neighborhood Detroit’s Mayor “Toughest Sell of My Life” Starving For Something New In Detroit A Family Scrambles To Keep It’s Home Hansen Talks To His Mom About Changing Times The Regrets Of A Detroit Political Insider
Big plans for the future Detroit
April 5, 2010 by admin · 2 Comments
A challenging list of projects can reshape city in the next decade Closing schools creates a smaller, modernized school system In a sweeping 5-year, $1-billion plan, 41 school buildings and 1 support building are slated for closure in June, with another 13 to be closed by 2012. DPS officials based this redesign in part on Detroit’s changing neighborhoods, comparing areas of growth to areas of abandonment. Here is a look at how those buildings fit onto a map of Detroit’s most vacant areas. The plan: A smaller but dramatically better system under control of the mayor, with a Standards and Accountability Commission reviewing every school; 54 buildings closed by 2012, 22 new or renovated opening; 70 new schools by 2020, 35 of them charters; a 90% graduation rate by 2020 and 9 in 10 graduates going on to advanced education. What has to happen: Education reform is critical to the city’s ability to attract and retain families. Basically, the community has to rally...
U.S. to increase housing loans
$14 billion to help jobless owners refinance via FHA BY GRETA GUEST FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER The Obama administration said Friday that it would widen the reach of its home loan modification program, which could help thousands of unemployed and underwater Michigan homeowners. The Home Affordable Modification Program, criticized for its slow pace and low number of modifications, would put $14 billion toward the program by helping those who owe more on their homes than they’re worth get new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Unemployed people would get a temporary break, with lowered mortgage payments for three to six months. The FHA refinancing program would be available to those with credit scores as low as 500, said Vince Parlove, president of First Preferred Mortgage in Bingham Farms. The programs are expected to be available in the fall. Drew Sygit, a certified mortgage planning specialist who leads the Lending Edge Team at First Michigan Bank in...
In One Home, a Mighty City’s Rise and Fall
By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS DETROIT — On a grassy lot on a quiet block on a graceful boulevard stands the answer to a perplexing question: Why does the typical house in Detroit sell for $7,100? The brick-and-stucco home at 1626 W. Boston Blvd. has watched almost a century of Detroit’s ups and downs, through industrial brilliance and racial discord, economic decline and financial collapse. Its owners have played a part in it all. There was the engineer whose innovation elevated auto makers into kings; the teacher who watched fellow whites flee to the suburbs; the black plumber who broke the color barrier; the cop driven out by crime. The last individual owner was a subprime borrower, who lost the house when investors foreclosed. A city that began a slow slide 60 years ago has now entered a free fall, pushed by the twin crises of housing and cars. Detroit’s population peaked at 1.85 million in the 1950 census. It is now less than half that. In July, unemployment hit 28.9%, almost...
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
VFLYER
YOUTUBE