Colorado will receive just over $41 million dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a new safety net program to help prevent home foreclosures.
The plan targets Coloradans at risk of losing their homes because they’ve lost jobs or are suffering other kinds of economic hardship. Congress is providing $1 billion for the program, which will be administered in conjunction with NeighborWorks America, an organization helping low to moderate-income families with housing needs.
“This program – the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program - is a way for homeowners who are unemployed or underemployed, or have lost income because of a medical illness, to find a way to fill the gap between making their mortgage payment and NOT making their mortgage payment,” says NeighborWorks America spokesperson Douglas Robinson.
Under the program, eligible homeowners can qualify for an interest-free loan which pays a portion of their monthly mortgage – including missed payments and penalties - for up to two years or $50,000, whichever comes first. EHLP expects to assist roughly 30,000 distressed homeowners nationally, with an average loan of $35,000. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2011.
