By Eliz Dowdy

The Precinct Reporter Group recently participated in a media conference call with Treasury Assistant for Financial Stability Herb Allison, and HUD Senior Advisor for Mortgage Finance, Bill Apgar. The purpose of the call was to inform the media about additional assistance for homeowners impacted by unemployment and unable to maintain their home mortgages.

Herb Allison began the information session of the call. He said, “We are announcing an additional funding for seventeen targeted states that have the highest rates of unemployment. California is one of those states where homeowners are negatively impacted by unemployment that has impacted their ability to remain current on their home mortgage payments.” The Administration announced the same day the provision of $2 billion for those seventeen impacted states to prevent foreclosures and keep families in their homes. The funding was made available through the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets. This funding is authorized by the Treasury Department

The allocation for funds is gauged by the unemployment numbers, and California is scheduled to receive $476,257,070.00. This is the third program now in place by the Administration that enables homeowners with a good pay record for their mortgages to negotiate terms that enable them to receive funding for up to twenty-four months. The maximum allowable is $50.000; these must be primary homes that the mortgagee is currently living in. Under the Hardest Hit Funds Allocation homeowners who are currently unemployed but believe they will be employed in the next twenty-four months will be eligible for these funds. The Hardest Hit Program was first announced in February 2010 by the President to enable states that were most severely impacted by the economic downturn to have more flexibility in their efforts to keep homeowners in their homes while they seek employment, re-train, or seek additional employment that will bring their level of income back to its original level.

The HUD program adds another $1 billion to complement the Hardest Hit Program; however the HUD funding will work through a variety of state and non-profit entities to assist homeowners. This program includes those who have medical conditions that wiped out or greatly reduced the income levels. It will offer deferred payment, bridge loans, zero percent interest, non-recourse, subordinate loans for eligible homeowners. This program is not limited to the seventeen states that are covered under the Hardest Hit Funding that makes it a complementary fund that also assists homeowners in other states and those that may not be covered under the unemployment funding, according to Apgar.

The eligibility requirements for those homeowners are: (1) Be at least three months delinquent in their payments and have a reasonable likelihood of being able to resume their mortgage payments and related housing expenses within two years; (2) Have a mortgaged property that is the principal residence of the borrower--eligible borrowers may not own a second home; (3) Demonstrate a good payment record prior to the event that produced the reduction of income.

HUD will announce additional details including the targeted communities and other program specifics when the program is officially launched in coming weeks.

After the presentations by Allison and Apgar, the session was opened for questions by reporters on the line. The Precinct Reporter asked two questions of the officials; they were: What agency is distributing the allocated funds, and how can homeowners know they are dealing with reputable representatives.

Herb Allison answered, saying that Housing Finance Authorities will be allocating the funding; they know the agencies within the states; also, there will be audits by the Administration so homeowners will have the assurances they are dealing with reputable entities.

Second: Will there be a cost involved for homeowners to access these fundings? Both Allison and Apgar contributed to this question with a resounding No cost to homeowners.

The concern of the Precinct Reporter was that in many instances when programs are instituted that assist people of color, scammers arise and “for a fee” will assist the already wearied soon-to-be victim.

If you are a homeowner who has been impacted by unemployment and may be able to access this program, first contact your lender/bank. If they are unproductive then contact many of the non-profit entities that are assisting homeowners. If anyone charges for this service, immediately call the state Attorney General's office and inform them.

The Obama Administration is working diligently to assist the voiceless and disenfranchised in our society. The homeowner assistance programs are designed to prevent a flurry of foreclosures that has plagued our communities in the past several years and ease the burden of beleaguered homeowners who must try to find suitable living quarters for their families while still trying to seek adequate employment.

Some of my fellow media participants were openly sarcastic, stating that the housing programs had in essence failed to stem the tide of foreclosures and therefore additional funds should not have been allocated. The Administration officials countered this with statistics verifying that indeed the Hamp Program, the Hardest Hit Program and now this addendum to the Hardest Hit Funds were indeed making a difference and the HUD complementary program would extend that life-saving line to those not covered under unemployment qualifications.