There is approximately $539 million dollars allocated from federal funds to assist homeowners facing foreclosure and other financial issues. There are specific requirements regarding who is eligible for these funds. Homeowners who earn less than the average median income which is approximately $107,400 for a family of 3 are eligible to participate in this program. In addition, homeowners who earn less than 150% of the area median income and meets the federal requirements of “socially disadvantaged” which includes “those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice”.
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, to qualify homeowners will have to demonstrate some kind of financial hardship. Examples of financial hardships could be loss of income or added expenses that have been caused or are related to the covid-19 pandemic. The individuals who seek aid must actually live in the home that they seek the money for. The home must be their primary residence. The primary residence can be single family homes, condos, co-ops , mobile homes or 2-4 family homes.
Three Options
There are three different options within the Homeowners Assistance Program. The first option is for homeowners with a mortgage who are ending forbearance agreements and homeowners who didn’t go into forbearance and are behind on their mortgage payments. Financial relief is available to these homeowners in a five year forgivable loan for an amount of money needed to modify the mortgage in a way that can allow the homeowner to better afford going forward. Homeowners under option one can receive up to $50,000.
Option 2 is for homeowners who don’t have a mortgage but are behind on expenses such as property taxes, water bills, insurance or condo or co-op fees. The relief is a five year forgivable loan for the amount of the debt that is owed. The amount of the forgivable loan is capped at $50,000.
The third option is in addition to one of the first two options. This is for homeowners who are unemployed or who are unable to keep up with the costs of maintaining their housing. For homeowners to qualify for the third option they must be making less than 30% of the area median income before the pandemic. For a homeowner to qualify for the third option, they can receive up tp six months of future housing payments to stay afloat as the economy recovers. These six payments are in addition to the other relief and will be funded through a different group of federal funds called the Community Development Block Grants.
Portals are in the process of being developed according to the Department of Homes and Community Renewal. This will allow homeowners to apply online or over the phone through a housing counselor.
The law office of Schlissel Decorpo, LLP is available to help homeowners facing foreclosure, in foreclosure and facing other financial problems that have put their homes at risk of being lost. We can be reached at 800-344-6431 or by email at info@sdnylaw.com