At the conference, Assistant Secretary William C. Apgar announced FHA's development of a series of new initiatives to address predatory lending practices targeted at FHA and its borrowers, including inflated appraisals, fraudulent underwriting, property flipping and other lending abuses. Minorities from the Baltimore and Washington, DC area described their experiences with subprime lenders. An 81 year old grandmother from Washington, DC, who has been in the same home for over 40 years, was tricked into refinancing her home believing that the refinance would save her money and pay off existing debt. The lender "flipped" her debt, tacking on assorted fees, which resulted in payments higher than what she was originally paying. Another victim purchased a home in Baltimore for $115,000, when the comparable sales price of houses in the same neighborhood was $75,000 - $80,000.

Housing activists applauded the two Departments for taking a stand against such practices and strongly voiced their recommendations on what is needed to combat this illegal activity by subprime lenders. All agreed that victims need more legal representation and that consumers need as much information as possible on lending practices to make informed choices.

FHA's reforms to protect homeowners from predatory practices will build on existing FHA efforts to streamline operations and eliminate abusive practices. They include Credit Watch, the Homebuyer Protection Plan, and a variety of reforms of the FHA property disposition program, including the new Marketing and Management Contractors, the Good Neighbor Sales Program and the Teacher and Officer Next Door Programs.

RECORD PACE FOR NEW HOME SALES
March new home sales were the second-highest monthly level ever recorded according to the U. S. Housing Market Conditions 1^st Quarter Report. The first quarter level was the second highest quarterly value. If this level continues throughout the year, this will be the best year ever for new home sales. In the first quarter, the homeownership rate rose to a record high with 67.1 percent of all families owning their homes. A total of 70.7 million American families owned their homes in the first quarter of the year, more than at any time in American history.

BIRMINGHAM PROGRAM CENTER CO-SPONSORS CONFERENCE
To address the funding needs of Alabama Neighborhood Networks Centers, the Birmingham Multifamily Program Center and Alabama's Community Builder Fellows co-coordinated a Neighborhood Networks Sustainability Conference. At the conference, Sarah Richey, Neighborhood Networks Coordinator, presented a session on building a statewide Neighborhood Networks Consortium.

The Birmingham office first facilitated the formation of a statewide consortium last September. The mission of the Alabama Neighborhood Networks Consortium is to provide comprehensive resources and services to promote development and long term sustainability of existing and emerging Neighborhood Network Centers within the state. Also, the consortium is to establish, maintain and support computer learning centers in affordable housing developments for low-income, elderly and disabled residents, and to increase educational and economic opportunities in low-income communities.

The Alabama Neighborhood Networks Consortium, Inc., was incorporated as a non-profit corporation December 2, 1999, and, received it's 501(c ) 3 non-profit tax status from the IRS April 20, 2000. The Consortium is currently preparing a brochure to recruit new members. The first center to be sponsored by the Alabama Neighborhood Networks Consortium, Inc., will open at Don L. West Teamster Manor Apartments on June 13, 2000.

For more information on the Alabama Neighborhood Networks Consortium, Inc., contact Sarah Richey, Neighborhood Networks Coordinator or she can be contacted at (205) 290-7630 ext. 1068.

HUD JOBS
The Office of Housing has positions open around the nation. Check out the Housing vacancies at the USAJobs website: http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/a9hud.htm.

BEST PRACTICES UPDATE
The Best Practices nomination process closed May 3. Field staff planning to attend the Symposium August 7-10 in Washington, DC should register early. Registration opens end of May and closes July 1. Look here for more information: http://www.hud.gov/bestpractices/sympo.html

HOMEOWNERSHIP WEEK IS HERE!
National Homeownership Week will be celebrated June 3-10 with events across the country. For more information, including registration forms and an event Planning Guide, please go to: http://www.hud.gov/fha/sfh/nhs/partners.html

UPCOMING EVENTS

• June 4, 2000, National Alliance of HUD Tenants Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland
• June 15, 2000, Best Practices Focus Group, Resident Services, Washington, DC
• June 22, 2000, Best Practices Focus Group, Rental Assistance/Section 8, Washington, DC
• Through July 12, 2000, Homebuyer Education Learning Program, Working for Empowerment Through Community Organizing (WECO), Cleveland, OH
• August 7-10, HUD Best Practices Symposium, Washington Hilton and Towers, Washington, DC