U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, will answer questions from homeowners and go over the issue of refinancing via a live on-line video "hangout" on Thursday at 3:15 PM.  

Secretary Donavan will also discuss how increasing the number of American homeowners who refinance at today's low interest rates can help the economy at large. 

The U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a comprehensive report on the effectiveness of a variety of types of foreclosure mitigation efforts.   About 4 million single-family mortgages were modified in the U.S. between 2009 and 2011 to help borrowers avoid foreclosure.

VHFA and its counterparts across the nation are increasing home buying activity through “very solid” tax-free municipal debt, according to Bloomberg news.

The number and percentage of shared households increased over the course of the recent national recession, according to a report released last month by the Census Bureau.  A “shared household” is a household which includes at least one additional adult who is not a student, spouse, or partner of the primary household head.