Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently directed mortgage companies to work with eligible homeowners to help them qualify for Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) assistance. Since 2010, HHF has provided $7.6 billion through select state Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs). State programs vary but may include mortgage assistance for homeowners who:
- Are unemployed or underemployed homeowners
- Are delinquent on their mortgage payments
- Need help paying down their principal balance for a more affordable monthly payment
- Need help paying down/eliminating a second mortgage
- Are transitioning out of their homes and into more affordable places of residence
How to Apply
To determine your eligibility, contact your mortgage company or state HFA. Find links to the state HFAs on the “Take Action” tab on our HHF Page . State HFAs have until the end of 2017 to utilize HHF funds.
Related: California Ups Offer
Keep Your Home California (KYHC)—California’s $2 billion foreclosure prevention effort established under HHF—recently announced expansion of its programs.
- Eligible California homeowners can receive up to $25,000 to catch up on their mortgage payments.
- Mortgage assistance to help homeowners pay down the principal balance of a mortgage loan can now be funded 100 percent through the state’s HHF program as long as servicers recast the payment schedule or provide a rate and/or term modification; the new payment must provide for an affordable, sustainable monthly mortgage for an eligible homeowner.
- Also under new changes for modification assistance funds to help homeowners pay down the principal balance of a mortgage loan and allow for a more affordable monthly payment, the dollars are disbursed to the servicer on behalf of the homeowner in the first year, rather than over three years, and the forgivable loan for the homeowner is extended from three to five years.
- The KYHC program cap was increased such that eligible homeowners can receive in total up to $100,000 assistance per household.
View eligibility criteria or call KYHC at 888-954-5337.
