Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund to Launch in April 2022

The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF) program, administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) provides financial assistance of up to $30,000.00 to income-eligible Illinois homeowners. This program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided the State of Illinois with $386.9 million. 

Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation (GROWTH) is serving as a Housing Stability Service provider for the ILHAF and is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. 

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

“We receive phone calls constantly about people who are in need of housing assistance whether it be on the rental side or the homeownership side. This is something that we assisted within 2020 with an emergency mortgage assistance so we anticipate a lot of people in need. With the foreclosure moratorium, those numbers came down but now we are starting to see an increase in phone calls from people who are needing that assistance,” said Beth Payne, Vice President at Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation.

This program provides direct financial assistance to prevent mortgage delinquencies, defaults, displacements, delinquent homeowners/condominium/co-op association fees, delinquent homeowner’s insurance and/or flood insurance, delinquent mobile home lot rent, and foreclosures for income-eligible homeowners experiencing pandemic-related hardships. Assistance will be paid directly to the mortgagor’s loan servicer, taxing body, or other approved entity on behalf of the homeowner.

“We are getting to the end of the pandemic, but there are still a lot of families that are still experiencing the after-effects and want to get caught up on their bills and this program is good timing because people are now able to move forward and get caught up on their mortgage and get on with life,” said James Jones, Housing Manager at Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation, “Sometimes you can get behind on your budget in life and that happens to a lot of families here in the Quad Cities and the surrounding area and so the need is basically understanding where you are and where you want to be when it comes to your finances.”

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

To qualify for ILHAF assistance, Illinois homeowners must have experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Jan. 21, 2020 (including a hardship that began before Jan. 21, 2020, but continued after that date). They also must currently own and occupy their home in Illinois as their primary residence, be at least 30 days late on their monthly housing payments, and have a household income at or below 150% of the area median income.  Homeowners are strongly encouraged to attend a webinar hosted in advance of the application portal opening.

For more information, contact Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation by calling (309)-788-6311 or by visiting their website.