Deadline for Federal Emergency Homeowner Assistance Looms

by cassy82 | June 28, 2011 at 11:46 am

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The federal government responded with the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program, but the deadline for participating for many Americans looms.

The program, designed to help homeowners pay off a portion of their existing home loan through interest-free loans for up to $50,000 or two years, runs out on September 30th. So, in order to meet this deadline, homeowners need to send in their preliminary program applications by July 22nd.

After the 22nd comes and goes, a lottery will be held and finalist will be given five days to complete a final application. At this time, those who meet the requirements – be at least three months behind on mortgage payments, meet certain income limits, and lose 15% of your income due to unemployment or medical and economic reasons – are eligible to take out one of the program’s loans.

All in all, the program is designed to help around 20,000-30,000 people meet their payments and stay in their homes.

If homeowners do not act now, though, they could be shut out due to the deadline. The chance at an interest-free $50,000 loan doesn’t come around very often, so anyone remotely interested should inquire into the program and put together a preliminary application.

The following states are available for EHLP: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The foreclosure crisis continues, with more waves of foreclosures pending. Short sales, REOs, and other forms of distressed properties have taken their tolls as well on homeowners and home values. And millions of Americans live in the world of shadow inventory – when they are delinquent on their loan yet are not yet foreclosed on due to slow processing and other issues.