6E // Real Estate & Home Builders Guide // October 2016
HIT HARD BY THE
HOUSING CRISIS?
THINKSTOCK
IMAGE
Government may
be able to help
By Ilyce Glink
and Samuel J. Tamkin
Tribune Content Agency
Q
: I’m writing in reference
to a recent column on fore-
closure prevention programs.
The program being referenced
in the reader question is the
N.C. Foreclosure Prevention
Fund. The Fund is adminis-
tered by the North Carolina
Housing Finance Agency, a
self-supporting state agency,
using funds from the U.S.
Department of the Treasury’s
Hardest Hit Fund.
While it’s always a good
idea for consumers to be wary
when seeking foreclosure
prevention help, we also need
help reassuring home owners
that real help is still available.
A Google search of foreclosure
prevention programs in North
Carolina from a state agency
providing up to 36 months of
assistance leads directly to
information about our Agency
and the program. We’ve
worked hard to communicate
our credibility to consumers
because we know there are
many scams out there and that
consumers are often reluctant
to seek help because of either
suspicions about legitimacy
of the program or their own
embarrassment. Anything all
of us can do to allay their fears
brings us closer to helping
them save their home.
Launched in 2010, the N.C.
Foreclosure Prevention Fund
helps North Carolina home-
owners who are struggling to
pay their mortgage due to job
loss, reduction in income or a
temporary inancial hardship.
Assistance up to $36,000 for
up to 36 months is provided for
qualiied homeowners while
they look for work or complete
job training. The program
also assists military veterans
transitioning to civilian life.
Assistance is provided as a
zero-percent, deferred loan
and homeowners who remain
in their home for 10 years can
have it forgiven (the loan is
forgiven at a rate of 20 percent
per year for years six through
10). The Fund has helped more
than 22,000 homeowners save
their homes.
While we can’t comment on
speciic cases, the quitclaim
deed would not have been
signed over to our Agency, but
would have been signed over to
her husband. All facets of our
program have to meet Treasury
guidelines.
We wanted you to be
aware of our program in case
other questions come up in
your column about it. Since
it is syndicated, it’s possible
you may get questions from
consumers in other states as
well. The Hardest Hit Fund
provided funding to 18 states
and the District of Columbia.
Funding was awarded due to
high unemployment rates and
unprecedented home price
declines during the recession.
Extensive information about
the program and the state
programs can be found online.
: Thanks for giving us
another chance to mention
the Hardest Hit Fund. These
programs have been a Godsend
for many, but have not reached
the full number of homeowners
they could.
The housing crisis that
began in 2007 led to unprece-
dented home price declines and
sustained and higher unem-
ployment in certain parts of
the country, mostly on the west
coast, and then in the middle of
the country, from Michigan all
the way down to Florida.
Families in these areas have
been particularly hard hit by
A
the housing crisis and continue
to struggle to make their
monthly mortgage payments.
While in many parts of the
country, home prices have
appreciated beyond where they
were at the peak of the cycle,
back in 2006 and 2007, some
homeowners continue to deal
with mortgages that are upside
down, which makes them
extremely dificult to reinance
or sell.
In 2016, as a means to
help these families who are
still feeling the effects of the
Great Recession, an additional
$2 billion was allocated to
participating Hardest Hit Fund
states to continue foreclosure
prevention and neighborhood
stabilization efforts, according
to the Treasury Department.
The link you reference lists
the states (plus Washington,
D.C.) which offer the program,
including Alabama, Arizona,
California, Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada,
New Jersey, North Carolina,
Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Each state’s Housing Finance
Agency (HFA) utilizes the funds
in a slightly different way and
has until 2020 to distribute all
the funds allocated. If a home-
owner is underwater with his or
her mortgage, or is struggling to
stay current on a mortgage, the
homeowner should reach out to
the state’s HFA for information
on qualifying for a Hardest Hit
Fund loan.
Although you clearly
recognize the particulars in the
email we shared, there is once
again a fair amount of mortgage
fraud cropping up, and home-
owners who aren’t careful are
vulnerable to losing their home.
If any homeowners feel as
though they’re unstable inan-
cially, and they’re worried that
they’re in danger of losing their
home, we suggest visiting the
website. Or just go to Treasury.
gov and then enter “hardest hit
fund” into the search engine at
the top right of the page. The
irst link will be the one cited
above. From there, homeowners
can locate the contact informa-
tion for their state’s HFA.