Surprisingly, the Government can Help You

The following government agencies deal directly or indirectly with various aspects of the real estate industry. Many of them provide some sort of free foreclosure help for homeowners who find themselves in a hardship situation, unable to pay their mortgage. Knowing the background of these entities will give you more information to stop foreclosure; in fact, some of these agencies directly oversee your mortgage lender.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD was established in 1965 as a cabinet of the United States Government whose principal objective is to develop and execute policy on housing and cities. Major programs overseen by HUD include Community Planning and Development, Housing, Public and Indian Housing, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Policy Development and Research, Government National Mortgage Association, and Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. HUD also provides homeowners in foreclosure with information relating to saving their homes, as well as referrals to housing counseling agencies. Several workout programs are administered or offered directly by HUD, such as partial claim and Pre-Foreclosure Sale programs.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

The Federal Housing Administration was created in 1934, with the purpose of insuring qualified private home mortgages for certain types of properties. It is a government corporation overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The FHA provides programs that help clients qualify for mortgages with low down payments, easy credit qualifications, eligibility with less than perfect credit, loans at reasonable rates, and money for repairs. Other services include assisting homeowners who have FHA-insured loans with options to stop foreclosure.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The VA, established in 1930 and also called the Veterans Administration, is the federal government’s second largest department, and contains three main subdivisions. These divisions are the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemeteries Administration. The Veterans Benefits Administration Home Loan Guaranty program is charged with assisting veterans in housing situations, including foreclosure situations. The VA website provides current requirements for obtaining funds from the VA to purchase a home.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The Federal Trade Commission was established in 1914 as an independent agency of the United States Government. The principal mission of the FTC is to promote consumer protection and eliminate and prevent anticompetitive business practices. The Bureau of Consumer Protection performs functions of investigating businesses, enforcing actions, and provides consumer and business education. The bureau is principally concerned with issues related to advertising and marketing, financial products and practices, telemarketing fraud, privacy and identity protection, and enforcement of previous FTC orders. Complaints against businesses can be filed online at the official site of the FTC.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)

The office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a Washington, DC based regulatory agency which charters, regulates, and supervises all of the national banks. It is a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury and the OCC’s Customer Assistance Group helps customers with complaints. Current versions of consumer complaint forms are kept on their website.

All of these agencies have websites which you can find through searching for them on Google, Yahoo, or any other search engine. If you feel you have been a victim of any kind of mortgage fraud that has caused you to fall further into foreclosure, then you should contact these regulators immediately. Even if you are not a victim of fraud or a scam, many of them provide free foreclosure help. Direct contact information to these agencies and others can be found in our foreclosure ebook, Theft of the American Home.