Congresswoman Corrine Brown Fights for Floridians to Overcome Housing Crisis

Washington, DC – March 18, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Brown made the following statement:

“Assisting my constituents with their housing needs has always been one of my top priorities ever since I was first elected to Congress in the early 1990’s. In fact, I have held yearly housing conferences and workshops to assist my constituents to purchase a home of their own, as well as help Floridians to keep their homes if they fall into danger of foreclosure or having trouble paying their mortgage.

Certainly, as we have seen during the terrible housing crisis across the nation over the last few years, a crisis that has hit particularly hard in my state of Florida (Florida in fact is the No. 1 state in foreclosures for the sixth month in a row, according to the latest report from Realty Trac, [Miami is #1, Orlando, #2, and Jacksonville, #8]). Moreover, according to the report, Florida ‘tops the country, with one in every 282 homes facing some kind of foreclosure filing. That’s three times the national average and up 6 percent from January and 20 percent from February 2012.’ That said, I am well aware of the difficulties Florida residents are facing just to keep their homes or make their first home purchase.

When I saw first-hand last year in Jacksonville what the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) is offering to families and communities across the nation to assist in the arena of homeownership (by offering homeownership seminars, providing counseling and opportunities to refinance), I was so impressed with their work that I have spent the last year getting the word out to my colleagues in Congress, and encouraging them to host NACA events in their own congressional district.

In my estimation, the knowledge and resources that NACA provides to prospective homebuyers, and to those struggling to pay their mortgage, such as providing specialized financial counselors who are trained to give advice to homeowners, as well as providing extremely low interest financing and loan assistance, is nothing less than remarkable. And I categorically believe that these programs are in dire need by the American people during these difficult economic times.”