N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund Caseworkers
The Obama Administration launched the Hardest Hit Fund back in 2010 to help homeowners avoid foreclosure in areas hardest hit by steep home price declines and unemployment.
Participating housing finance agencies (HFAs) in 18 states and the District of Columbia are implementing various initiatives to help homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments.
All participating HFAs have expanded their programs to a wider set of homeowners who now receive assistance from it.
The North Carolina program is described as follows:
The North Carolina program—the N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund—pays an unemployed worker’s mortgage for up to 24 months (up to $24,000) while they are enrolled in an educational or training program or are searching for a new job. In high-unemployment counties, the cap is 36 months. The funds are provided as a zero-interest loan to the homeowner, which does not have to be repaid if the homeowner continues to live in their home for 10 years. The loan can also be used by homeowners who are seeking employment because of a financial hardship such as a divorce, or who have become re-employed but need to bring their mortgage current because they fell behind during a recent period of unemployment.
The N.C. Housing Finance Agency’s outreach teams have participated in nine rapid response deployments in the past year, providing resources and information to over 4,000 displaced workers who could be eligible for assistance.
“We don’t want homeowners to wait until they’re in foreclosure to use our loans,” said Betsy Rozakis, the Housing Finance Agency’s CFO and director of the N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund. “Our goal is to provide help before they’re in foreclosure, and before they have depleted their retirement savings or ruined their credit.”
Hardest Hit Fund programs vary state to state, but may include the following:
- Mortgage payment assistance for unemployed or underemployed homeowners
- Principal reduction to help homeowners get into more affordable mortgages
- Funding to eliminate homeowners’ second lien loans
- Help for homeowners who are transitioning out of their homes and into more affordable places of residence.
Homeowners in participating states can apply for the Hardest Hit Fund through 2017, or until all program funds are allocated to assist homeowners. For more information about the program in your state, contact your HFA directly.
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