A substantial number of people in Colorado (and the nation for that matter) have had a loss or decrease of income but would like to keep their home and not foreclose. Well, HUD has launched a new Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) to help people in this exact situation….offering a short term solution to stay current on their mortgage until their income gets back to “normal”. The EHLP will offer a declining balance, deferred payment “bridge loan” (non-recourse, subordinate loan with zero interest) for up to $50,000 to assist eligible homeowners with: (i) payments of arrearages, including delinquent taxes and insurance, and/or (ii) up to 24 months of monthly payments on their mortgage principal, interest, mortgage insurance premiums, taxes, and hazard insurance. Under EHLP, HUD will assist borrowers in 32 states including Colorado.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE:
EHLP is designed to provide mortgage payment relief to eligible experiencing a drop in income of at least 15%, and resulting from involuntary unemployment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions and/or a medical emergency.
Other EHLP eligibility requirements include:
Income Limit: Applicant has a total household income equal to, or less than, 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) previous to loss of income resulting from involuntary unemployment, underemployment, and/or medical emergency/serious injury.
Delinquency: Applicant must be at least three months delinquent on mortgage payemnts, as signified by notification by their lender/servicer.
Likelihood of Foreclosure: Applicant must have received notification of their lender’s/servicer’s intention to foreclose on their mortgage as a result of the delinquency, and must also certify to the likelihood that their mortgage will be foreclosed upon.
Ability to Resume Payment: Applicant can be determined to have a reasonable likelihood of being able to resume repayment of the first mortgage obligations within 2 years, and meet other housing expenses and debt obligations when the household income rises above 85% of the previous level, as determined by the homeowner’s back-end debt-to-income ratio, which must be less-than-or-equal-to 55%.
Principal Residence: Applicant must reside in the mortgaged property as their principal residence, both at time of application and for the duration of the progam loan period. The mortgaged property must also be a single family residence (1 to 4 unit structure or condominium unit).
For more information you can contact FHA directly by calling 1-800-CALL-FHA (800-225-5342), or email info@fhaoutreach.com. If you prefer, feel free to call or email me and I am happy to talk about your situation and be a resource for you as well. My contact info is at the top of this website.
Leave a Reply