Deadline nears for HUD loans
When the recession hit, countless Rio Grande Valley residents who were already barely making their house payments were pushed over the line into mortgage delinquency.
For some, the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program may mean the difference between losing their home and keeping it.
The loan program, offered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is meant to provide emergency mortgage assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure because of temporary and involuntary loss of income as a result of the economy or a medical condition.
The EHLP application deadline is July 22. It is a zero-interest loan that covers past-due mortgage payments — including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and attorney’s fees — plus a portion of the homeowner’s mortgage payment for up to 24 months or $50,000, whichever comes first, as long eligibility requirements are maintained.
There are several eligibility requirements, including a stipulation that combined household adjusted gross income not exceed $75,000.
Also, the property at risk of foreclosure must be the borrower’s principal residence and the mortgage at least 90 days delinquent.
Borrowers can’t be in bankruptcy or delinquent on any federal loans, including student loans, and must be U.S. citizens, U.S. non-citizen nationals or qualified aliens.
The program is being funded by $1 billion channeled to HUD through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Potential borrowers must complete a pre-applicant screening worksheet.
Because funding is finite, approval — even for qualified pre-applicants — is not guaranteed. If the number of eligible pre-applicants exceeds the amount of funding available, the worksheets will be entered into a lottery and homeowners randomly selected to apply for the program.
Selected homeowners will be notified no later than Aug. 15.
Janie Alegria of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of South Texas said the rate of local foreclosures has eased some since the height of the crisis, though it’s still an issue for many residents.
Roughly half of those coming through her door are struggling to stay in their homes, she said.
Most are well within EHLP’s $75,000 income limit. While the CCCSSTX was created to help clients get a handle on debt of all types, Alegria said, mortgage problems have to be dealt with first.
“They may have more than one problem, but we tend to focus on the house first,” she said. “That’s where they live. You’re trying to keep them from becoming homeless.”
Another requirement for EHLP is that borrowers have the means to resume at least a portion of their monthly mortgage payments. For that reason, anyone interested in applying for an emergency loan needs to go through CCCSSTX, Alegria said.
“Anybody with computer can get (an application), but they need to bring it to us,” she said. “One of the requirements is that we do a budget with them to be sure they’re going to be able to pay it back. If you don’t have a job it’s not going to work.”
CCCSSTX’s Harlingen office is at 2202 S. 77 Sunshine Strip, Suite C. The Brownsville office is located in the United Way of Southern Cameron County headquarters at 634 E. Levee St. In McAllen, CCCSSTX is located at 221 W. Nolana Ave., Suite B.
For more information visit a CCCSSTX office, call CCCSSTX at (956) 428-0072 or go to www.FindEHLP.org.
