Mortgage Stimulus: Is Your State Still Providing This Benefit?

Even though the Covid 19 is almost gone, people who are having trouble paying their mortgages can still obtain help in some states in the form of mortgage stimulus. If you’ve lost your work or had your income reduced temporarily, you have a few options. To assist the most vulnerable homeowners, the American Rescue Plan Act allocated up to $9.961 billion to states, the District of Columbia, US territories, Tribes or Tribal entities, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

If borrowers encountered financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act required lenders holding federally backed single-family mortgages to delay borrowers’ payments for up to 360 days. Owners of multifamily units with federally backed mortgages were eligible for a similar but shorter (90 days) forbearance or temporary delay of loan payments. Homeowners may be eligible for additional loss mitigation and services after their forbearance period ends.

States like Florida, New York, Texas, California, Illinois, Virginia, Michigan, Alaska, and more still offer some sort of mortgage stimulus and a different amount per household but the applicant’s eligibility requirements are pretty much the same.

The Florida Homeowner Assistance Fund is again accepting applications from homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and other bills. Florida received $676 million as part of the $9.9 billion COVID-19 disaster relief package passed by Congress and President Biden about a year ago to provide mortgage stimulus to Florida homeowners.

The California Mortgage Relief Program (CMRP), which is open to all eligible Californians, is also funded by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowners Assistance. For approved candidates, this program will pay up to $80,000.00 in mortgage, property tax, and insurance bills. The program’s funds are sent straight to your mortgage servicer. The CalHFA Homeowner Relief Corporation (CalHRC), a special-purpose affiliate of the California Housing Finance Agency, administers the California Mortgage Relief Program (CalHFA).

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) administers the Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF), which provides financial assistance of up to $30,000.00 to income-eligible Illinois homeowners. Illinois homes must have suffered financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic after January 21, 2020, to be eligible for ILHAF assistance (including a hardship that began before Jan. 21, 2020, but continued after that date). They must also own and occupy their primary dwelling in Illinois, be at least 30 days delinquent on their monthly housing payments, and have a household income of less than 150 percent of the area median income.

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

The Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund program also provides funds of up to $25,000.00 to help homeowners avoid mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosure, loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements if they face financial hardship on or after January 21, 2020, or if they face financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic that began before January 21, 2020, but continued after that date.

The Virginia Mortgage Relief Program or VMRP helps people stay in their homes and help ease mortgage delinquencies, defaults, and foreclosures due to the pandemic.  And since March 17, 2022, the maximum amount of assistance to eligible Virginia homeowners has been raised from $30,000.00 to $40,000.00 with no cap on the number of months past due.

The Indiana Homeowner Assistance Fund (IHAF) provides eligible applicants with up to get up to six months of monthly mortgage payments under the monthly assistance program. These funds can also be used for homeowners’ association fees, property owners’ association fees, condo owners’ association fees, county taxes, and homeowners’ insurance.

The Maine Homeowner Assistance Fund or Maine HAF offers eligible applicants up to  $25,000.00. The Maine Homeowner Assistance Fund will launch on Monday, May 2, 2022. 

New Hampshire homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments or property taxes as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak may be eligible for the New Hampshire Homeowner Assistance Fund program that has just begun accepting applications. 

Research the mortgage stimulus programs available in your state, their eligibility restrictions, and the required paperwork. Remember that most of these initiatives will close after funding is depleted, so send your applications as soon as possible.

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.