NHMFC to sell houses of delinquent borrowers

The National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) will sell to interested buyers including homeless government employees on cash or installment, its foreclosed housing units and the agency’s rights on mortgages which have been delinquent in payments for more than two years.

Felino M. Rosales, NHMFC officer-in-charge and executive vice president, announced that this was recently approved by the NHMFC Board of Directors, chaired by Housing Sec. Michael T. Defensor.

The property disposal program is in compliance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s directive for housing agencies to make available unoccupied housing units to government employees at affordable acquisition schemes, he informed.

Priority for sale are units whose housing loans are without any payments, numbering some 9,000; those which have been foreclosed/dacion en pago accounts estimated at 2,000 units; and those which have been delinquent for more than 36 months, consisting of some 110,000 accounts.

However, to give priority to delinquent original borrowers to keep their housing units, and prior to any sale or assignment of rights on these properties, NHMFC shall notify the original borrowers by mail or by publication for them to avail themselves of loan restructuring or refinancing, Rosales emphasized.

Under the scheme, a borrower with no payments will be allowed to restructure his account upon his full payment of total loan arrearages; while those with over 24 months in unpaid amortizations shall be required to pay 30 percent of total arrearages prior to loan restructuring.

If these accounts have a third-party buyer, the original loan borrower shall also reimburse the related expenses incurred by said buyer for the original loan borrower to be allowed any loan restructuring, Rosales hastened to add.

As an additional assistance, an economically-distressed borrower whose account has been foreclosed may still redeem the property either by paying the full amount of obligations, or by availing of a refinancing scheme, under a contract to sell, within the legal period of redemption, Rosales added.

Meanwhile, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and its five attached agencies have expressed support to the holding of the national developers’ convention of the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) slated on June 20 and 21 at Dusit Hotel Nikko, Makati City.

In a letter expressing his support, Housing Sec. Michael T. Defensor and concurrent HUDCC chairman, committed to co-sponsor with SHDA the two-day convention, it was announced by Jesus B. Atencio, SHDA first vice president and overall convention chairman.

Focused on the theme, "Making it Happen! Moving Housing Forward for 2002 and Beyond," the convention, considered as the most prestigious gathering of real estate practitioners early this year, showcases the private and government partnership in addressing homelessness, particularly of the poor, Atencio said.