By John Carson, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Region VIII

June is National Homeownership Month. This year's theme - "Promoting and Protecting Homeownership" - focuses on promoting first-time home buying; encouraging potential and current home buyers to learn more about the responsibilities that come with homeownership; and helping consumers understand the "fine print" of their mortgage documents.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, through the programs of the Federal Housing Administration, offers a safe and affordable path to successful homeownership opportunities. Since 1934, more than 34 million families have purchased homes with FHA-insured mortgages. In recent years, FHA fell behind as the lending industry introduced automated underwriting systems and risk-based pricing that increased the speed and flexibility of mortgage originations and approvals but also left many new buyers with no alternative except exotic sub-prime loans that have resulted in substantial increases in defaults and foreclosures.

National Homeownership Month mobilizes HUD's resources to educate Americans on ways to achieve the dream of homeownership. For most families, owning a home is their best and largest investment. Nearly 70 percent of American families are homeowners including a growing number of minority families. One way to protect and preserve homeownership is the modernization of the FHA programs. This Administration is working closely with Congressional leaders to develop legislation that will enable HUD to provide a greater and more flexible array of loan products that, with minimal exposure to taxpayers, will help tens of thousands of families obtain stable and affordable financing.

An FHA loan can help with the purchase or refinance of a single family home, condominium, or manufactured home. Through the expansion of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program, commonly known as reverse mortgages, homeowners and homebuyers who are 62 and older would be able to retain their current home or move to a more suitable unit. Modernization would increase and simplify FHA loan limits and better reflect the cost of new construction in higher-cost areas of the country. Mortgage insurance premiums would be established based on the borrower's credit profile, and higher-risk borrowers would pay somewhat higher amounts. In all cases, the terms of the loan will be precise so that families will know exactly how much their loan will cost.

A stable and growing housing sector is vital to the American economy. Our hope is that consumers, investors, regulators, and the industry have learned valuable lessons from the woes created by the sub-prime high risk loans. Now more than ever, education is the key to obtaining, securing and preserving the most important investment many of us may ever make. Toward that end, the Administration proposes another increase in housing counseling grants in next year's budget to a total of $50 Million.

For more information about FHA programs, phone 1-800-CALL-FHA or visit www.hud.gov or espanol.hud.gov.