Unemployment Increases

The unemployment rate moved up to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent a month earlier. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 160,000, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 7.8 percent.

Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.6%

The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent during the month of November, as employers added 120,000 new jobs to their payrolls, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday morning. By the government’s calculations, the unemployment rate declined by 0.4 percentage point from 9.0 percent reported in October to hit its lowest level since March of 2009. Employment assessments for both October and September were revised upward.

Lay Off Rights

For a business with 50 to 99 employees, the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications Act mandates notification of layoffs constituting at least 33 percent of the staff. The act provides a 90-day notice period.


http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202533111098

PROGRAM LOOKS TO PROVIDE MORE MONEY FOR STRUGGLING HOMEOWNERS

For the roughly four million homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, the federal government is offering yet another remedy: free money to catch up on their loans, SmartMoney.com reported today. The effort, called the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, is the latest in the federal government's efforts to slow down the flood of foreclosures, a necessary step to a meaningful recovery in the housing market, says a Department of Housing and Urban Development official. Loans of up to $50,000 that do not actually need to be repaid if applicants meet certain requirements. http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/real-estate/more-money-for-struggling-homeowners-1309312646029/#printMode

to apply http://ehlp.nw.org/

docs http://ehlp.nw.org/documents/EHLPDocumentChecklistforHomeownersSelectedintheLottery.pdf

program

http://ehlp.nw.org/findaforeclosurecounselorEHLP.asp

EHLP is only available in the following states/territory: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Those states that are not identified above (non-EHLP states) receive direct assistance through the U.S. Treasury's Innovation Fund for Hardest Hit Housing Market Program. The list of Hardest Hit Fund states is provided below. If you live in one of these states, click on that state's name to find out more about Hardest Hit Housing Market Program that is available where you live.   Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington DC

An eligible homeowner:

• Must be a Florida resident;

• Must occupy property as primary residence (the property cannot be vacant, abandoned or rented);

• Borrower/co-borrower must be unemployed or underemployed through no fault of his/her own, which makes the first mortgage unaffordable;

• Must have documented total household income at or below 140% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for household size;

• Must have an active checking/savings account that can be debited by the ACH method of funds transfer;

• May not have unencumbered assets of $5,000 or more, or three times the current monthly mortgage payment (whichever is greater);

• Cannot have a bankruptcy that has not been discharged or dismissed; and

• Cannot have been convicted of a mortgage-related felony in the last 10 years.

The current mortgage:

• Must be serviced by a participating lender, who agrees to accept payments on behalf of the homeowner;

• Must not be more than 180 days past due at the time of application;

• Must have been originated on or before January 1, 2009; and

• Must have an existing principal balance of less than $400,000.

https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/


http://www.floridamortgagecorp.com/area_median_income.htm


PASCO COUNTY, FL $54,400

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL $54,400

POLK COUNTY, FL $49,500

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL $54,400

http://homes.point2.com/Neighborhood/US/Florida/Pinellas-County-Demographics.aspx

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il2009/2009ILCalc.odb?inputname=Pinellas%
20County&area_id=METRO45300M45300&fips=1205399999&type=county&year=2009&yy=09&stname=Florida&stusps=FL&statefp=12&ACS_Survey=Yes&State_Count=1.0&areaname=Pinellas%20County&wherefrom=mtsp&level=50

Unemployment Up

The national unemployment rate rose to 9.0 percent in April, up from 8.8 percent in March, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Department of Labor. Employers added 244,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, but the government agency says the number of unemployed was “little changed” at 13.7 million.

Applications Flood Florida Program for Unemployed Homeowners

In just one week's time, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation has received nearly 9,500 applications from unemployed homeowners seeking financial assistance through the state's Hardest-Hit Fund (HHF) program. Following a successful six-month pilot run in Lee County, the state housing agency launched the program statewide on April 18, making it available to troubled homeowners in all 67 counties. Florida has received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Treasury to fund the program.

https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/

Florida’s effort is two-fold. The Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP) will provide up to $12,000 to pay monthly mortgage and escrowed mortgage-related expenses for up to six months, or until the homeowner can resume making mortgage payments. Homeowners in this program are required to pay 25 percent of their monthly income toward their mortgage payment, with a minimum payment of $70 per month.


The Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment Program (MLRP) will provide up to $6,000 to bring the homeowner’s past-due first mortgage current if the homeowner can show the ability to resume making mortgage payments on their own. For a homeowner who received funding from the UMAP program, any unused funds up to $12,000 may be used in addition to MLRP funds to help bring the first mortgage current.

Assistance through both programs will be in the form of a 0 percent, deferred-payment loan. The loan can be forgiven over a five-year period, at a rate of 20 percent each year.

An eligible homeowner:


Must be a Florida resident;

Must occupy property as primary residence (the property cannot be vacant, abandoned or rented);

Borrower/co-borrower must be unemployed or underemployed through no fault of his/her own, which makes the first mortgage unaffordable;

Must have documented total household income at or below 140% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for household size;

Must have an active checking/savings account that can be debited by the ACH method of funds transfer;

May not have unencumbered assets of $5,000 or more, or three times the current monthly mortgage payment (whichever is greater);

Cannot have a bankruptcy that has not been discharged or dismissed; and

Cannot have been convicted of a mortgage-related felony in the last 10 years.

The current mortgage:

Must be serviced by a participating lender, who agrees to accept payments on behalf of the homeowner;

Must not be more than 180 days past due at the time of application;

Must have been originated on or before January 1, 2009; and

Must have an existing principal balance of less than $400,000.

Florida Housing Launches Hardest-Hit Fund Program Statewide

Unemployed or underemployed homeowners in Florida having difficulty paying their mortgages can apply for financial assistance from the Florida Hardest-Hit Fund  https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/beginning April 18. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has been conducting a pilot of its Hardest-Hit foreclosure prevention program since October, and is now opening them up statewide. The agency has made several changes to the program, which is now expected to provide assistance to twice as many homeowners as previously estimated.

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/florida-housing-launches-hardest-hit-fund-program-statewide-2011-04-08
 

 
 
Previously available to homeowners 90 or fewer days delinquent on mortgage payments, the state agency


opened the eligibility requirements for the program in November, allowing homeowners who are up to 180 days delinquent to qualify for the service.



The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has made a few additional changes to the program benefits for the statewide roll-out.



The Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP) now provides up to $12,000 to pay monthly mortgage and escrowed mortgage-related expenses for up to six months or until the homeowner can resume making mortgage payments. In addition, homeowners in the UMAP must pay 25 percent of their monthly income toward their monthly mortgage payment with a minimum payment of $70 per month.

HUD Deploys Nearly $200M in Emergency Funds for the Unemployed

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pull the plug on HUD's Emergency Homeowner Loan Program last month, but that hasn't stopped HUD from moving ahead to put the money into the hands of distressed homeowners. The fund was established to provide zero-interest bridge loans of up to $50,000 for unemployed homeowners to continue making their mortgage payments while they look for a new job. HUD just deployed nearly $200 million of the $1 billion allotted to state agencies
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/hud-deploys-nearly-200m-in-emergency-funds-for-unemployed-homeowners-2011-04-04

Frank Wants Tax on Banks, Hedge Funds to Subsidize Housing Programs

On Thursday, Frank introduced the Emergency Mortgage Relief and Neighborhood Stabilization Programs Cost Recoupment Act (H.R. 1151).


The amount paid by each individual firm would be assessed based on risk, to bring in a collective total of $2.5 billion, which would be used to offset the cost of assistance to unemployed homeowners under the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program and for states and communities under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Unemployment Rate Drops Below 9%

The national unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in February, as employers added 192,000 jobs to their payrolls, according to figures just released by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rate is down from 9.0 percent in January and 9.4 percent as recently as December.

Congress Runs Up against Deadline over Unemployment Benefits

Though there are many issues swirling as the lame duck session kicks off, Congress will have to negotiate the federal unemployment insurance benefits for millions that are set to expire on Nov. 30, CongressDaily reported today. Nearly 2 million of the 5 million people now on federal support will immediately lose benefits if Congress does not act by December. 1, according to the National Employment Law Project. The other 3 million would gradually lose benefits over the following few months as they used up the remainder of their benefits. The benefits cost between $6-7 billion per month, according to estimates compiled by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Extending them for one year would cost about $80 billion, the Center estimates, noting that there is no official figure for the cost of their extension.

Florida Launches Pilot Program for Unemployed Homeowners

On Monday, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation will launch a pilot program to help unemployed and underemployed homeowners with their mortgage payments. The pilot will test the waters for the state's planned use of its federal dollars allocated through the Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund. Assistance is only available to Lee County homeowners during the 90-day pilot period, but officials say they plan to go statewide during the first part of 2011.

http://www.floridahousing.org/

https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/

The Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP) will provide up to 18 months of first mortgage payments directly to the lender on behalf of unemployed/underemployed homeowners until they can resume making payments on their own. 

The Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment (MLRP) Program will be used to bring a delinquent mortgage current for homeowners who have returned to work or recovered from underemployment.


Both UMAP and MLRP program funds will be in the form of a zero percent, deferred-payment loan. The loan can be forgiven over a five-year period, at a rate of 20 percent each year.

Unemployed Lawyers

Legal Sector Lost 800 Jobs in July

The American Lawyer

The U.S. economy as a whole lost 131,000 jobs in July, and 800 of them were in the legal trade, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the losses, the industry actually fared better last month than it did in June, when it saw more than 3,000 positions evaporate. All told, there are now 17,200 fewer legal jobs in the U.S. than there were in July 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464369091&src=EMC-Email&et=editorial&bu=Law.com&pt=LAWCOM%20Newswire&cn=nw20100809&kw=Legal%20Sector%20Lost%20800%20Jobs%20in%20July


http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.htm

Unemployed Homeowners

Through the existing Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets, the U.S. Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available to housing finance agencies (HFAs) in 17 states and the District of Columbia to implement local programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment.

In addition, HUD is planning to launch a complementary $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program to provide assistance – for up to 24 months – to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure and have experienced a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition.

States that have already received money under the Hardest Hit Fund may use the additional resources to support their existing unemployment programs or they may opt to implement a new program. States that are new to the grant list must submit proposals to Treasury by September 1. Assistant Treasury Secretary Herb Allison said final approval for new programs will be made by October 3, in order to ensure program roll-outs during the fall season.

The states eligible to receive funds through this additional assistance include:

• Alabama – $60,672,471

• California – $476,257,070

• Florida – $238,864,755

• Georgia – $126,650,987

• Illinois – $166,352,726

• Indiana – $82,762,859

• Kentucky – $55,588,050

• Michigan – $128,461,559

• Mississippi – $38,036,950

• Nevada – $34,056,581

• New Jersey – $112,200,638

• North Carolina – $120,874,221

• Ohio – $148,728,864

• Oregon – $49,294,215

• Rhode Island – $13,570,770

• South Carolina – $58,772,347

• Tennessee – $81,128,260

• Washington, D.C. – $7,726,678

• Bill Apgar, HUD’s senior advisor for mortgage finance, explained that the program will work through a variety of state and non-profit entities to offer a declining balance, deferred payment “bridge loan” of up to $50,000 per eligible borrower, which can be used to make payments on their mortgage, property taxes, and insurance for up to 24 months.

• Eligible borrowers must be at least three months delinquent and have a reasonable likelihood of resuming repayment of their mortgage and related housing expenses within two years. The property must be their primary residence and the borrower cannot own a second home. They must also demonstrate a good payment record prior to the event that resulted in their reduction of income.



http://treasury.gov/press/releases/tg823.htm

Jobless Benefits Bill Approved by Senate

The Senate voted (59-39) yesterday to restore emergency jobless benefits to millions of people who have been out of work for more than six months, the Washington Post reported today. House leaders said they will ratify the measure today and send it on to the White House, where President Obama plans to immediately sign it. The bill would authorize states to provide retroactive support to an estimated 2.5 million people whose unemployment checks have been cut off since federal benefits expired June 2. It would also make available up to 99 weeks of income support through the end of November to millions more who have exhausted state benefits, which typically last for 26 weeks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072105650_pf