Neighborhood Housing Services of Kansas City, Inc.

5835 Troost, KCMO 64110

For Immediate Release

October 9, 2008

Low-Income Mortgage Borrowers with the Benefit of Homeownership Counseling Do Substantially Better Than General Market, According to New Foreclosure Analysis

Kansas City, Missouri – A new national loan performance analysis of mortgages made to low-income homeowners who have participated in homeownership education programs through NeighborWorks organizations like Neighborhood Housing Services of Kansas City shows a foreclosure start rate that is twenty (20) times less severe than that for subprime borrowers, and three (3) times better than the conventional conforming mortgage market.

“The facts tell the real story,” said Mark Stalsworth, President of Neighborhood Housing Services. “The vast majority of mortgages facilitated by NHS and other NeighborWorks organizations across the nation are to buyers with low and moderate incomes and less than perfect credit scores, yet by providing quality mortgage advice to these homeowners, we have been able to help sustain homeownership during the most severe housing crisis since the Great Depression.”

Comparing foreclosure data provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association, NeighborWorks shows that while its own loan portfolio had a foreclosure start rate of 0.21 percent in the second quarter of 2008, the overall market’s foreclosure start rate was 1.08 percent, more than five times as great.

Moreover, NeighborWorks mortgages hold up very well against a comparison to only the conventional conforming market. According to the MBA, the foreclosure start rate for conventional conforming mortgages was 0.61 percent in the second quarter, compared again to 0.21 percent for NeighborWorks mortgages.

Through October 2008, Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) homeownership education program has helped more than 140 prospective homeowners. The program includes classroom education and one on one credit counseling sessions. Many attendees agree, “This program is a must for all first time homebuyers.”

“NeighborWorks organizations like Neighborhood Housing Services of Kansas City have a track record of providing one-on-one mortgage advice and encouraging homebuyers to avoid loans that they can not afford for the long-term,” said Kenneth D. Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America. “That dedication to community stability and strength is the foundation of what we’re doing in Kansas City and more than 4,400 communities around the country every day. The idea that some observers now are pointing to low income people as the cause of the financial crisis we’re facing today is just wrong.”

For more information, please contact Marjorie Major, 816-822-7703 ext. 218 mmajor@nhsofkcmo.org

About Neighborhood Housing Services

Neighborhood Housing Services is a not for profit Community Development organization dedicated to improving the quality and sustainability of Kansas City neighborhoods.