How To Apply For Mortgage Assistance

Types Of Reverse Mortgages

• Federally Insured Reverse Mortgages – Known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages
• Proprietary Reverse Mortgages
• Single Purpose Reverse Mortgages

When finding a lender remember:

• Be suspicious of anyone claiming that you can own a home with no down payment
• Seek out your own reverse mortgage counselor
• Never sign anything you do not fully understand
• Make sure the loan is federally insured

Can I Get Additional Down Payment Assistance With An Fha Loan

While the FHA does not offer its own down payment assistance, you may still be able to get help with your down payment through a program. Take note: Assistance for closing costs on FHA loans is capped at 6%. For an FHA loan, you have to put up some of your own money, but most down payment programs will work with FHA loans.

Contact Your Lender To Get Mortgage Relief

No matter what type of loan you have or what government assistance may be available, contact your lender directly if you have concerns about paying your mortgage.

You don’t have to wait until you are delinquent on your mortgage, and calling before you miss a payment will likely give you more mortgage relief options. If you’ve already missed a payment when you ask for forbearance, that delinquency may show up on your credit report .

Here’s what you should have ready when you contact your lender:

• An estimate of your current income .

• An estimate of your current monthly expenses.

• Your most recent mortgage statement.

• Documentation of what caused your situation to change.

Beware of third parties offering mortgage assistance. Look for help from your lender, not from other organizations offering mortgage relief. If you want to get advice about talking to your lender, find a HUD-approved financial counselor on the HUD website. These counselors offer no-cost assistance and can help you be better prepared to call your lender.

You can also find more information on all of the programs listed above at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website.

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What Mortgage Can Down Payment Assistance Be Applied To

Down payment assistance programs are generally designed to work with low down payment home loans. That makes sense since down payment assistance is often equal to the minimum down payment required for one of those loans. The administrator of the DPA program you pick can point you to the lender or loan that will work for you.

Homeowners Are Able To Use This Website To Create An Account And Submit Their Application

This program gives eligible homeowners grants to cover past due mortgage payments and propertytaxes, insurance, and homeowner/condo association fees. The program is administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs with funding provided by the Homeowner Assistance Fund under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

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Down Payment Assistance: Available Programs & How To Apply

The down payment is one of the biggest obstacles to homeownership. The average home price nationwide is about $295,300. That means most home buyers need around $9,000 to $60,000 for a down payment. Down payment assistance programs can help some borrowers clear that hurdle.

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• FAQs

To Start Verify Your Mortgage Type

The kind of mortgage you have may determine what types of assistance are available to you.

• The GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, deal with conventional loans.

• The Federal Housing Administration insures FHA loans.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees VA loans.

• The Department of Agriculture offers USDA loans.

You can find out if your conventional mortgage is owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae using the loan look-up tools on their websites.

To verify whether you have an FHA, VA or USDA loan, find your closing documents and look for the Closing Disclosure. In the upper right of the first page of this document, under “Loan Information,” you’ll see checkboxes indicating your loan type: conventional, FHA, VA or other.

If you can’t locate this document, try looking at your monthly mortgage statement or contacting your lender at the phone number listed on the statement.

Regardless of mortgage type, contact your lender to discuss relief options. The federal government has encouraged all lenders to support homeowners who need mortgage assistance due to hardship brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The Emergency Rental Assistance program provides funding to help renters who are unable to pay rent or utilities. The funds are provided directly to states, U.S. territories, local governments, American Indian tribes, Tribally Designated Housing Entities, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. These entities may use ERA funds to provide assistance through existing or newly created rental assistance programs.

Application Process What To Expect

• Homeowners must submit an application through the online portal.
• Resourceswill be available to assist homeowners withcompletingapplications. See comprehensive help documents within the application system. For additional assistance, contact our Call Center at 1-833-651-3874.
• Applications are reviewed to determine whether the homeowner qualifies for program assistance. Check the status of your application here.
• Payments are sent directly to the mortgage servicer or property charge payee once the homeowners application is approved.

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Find Haf Info For Your Location

• U.S. Virgin Islands.

In some cases, states and territories have not yet opened applications for HAF. Where that’s true, you may be able to sign up to receive text or email updates about when the applications become available. Sure, no one wants more emails, but here it’s probably worthwhile HAF programs in some states have been overwhelmed with applications. For example, New York states HAF launched on Jan. 3, 2022, but by Feb. 19, 2022, theyd stopped accepting applications and begun adding homeowners to a waitlist.

Some states provide a list of the documents you’ll need to submit with your application. These documents generally include proof of your identity , proof of income , proof of homeownership and other applicable materials. If you live in a place where HAF applications aren’t yet available, it’s a good idea to gather this info in advance so you’re ready when your local government begins accepting applications.

Streamline Refinance Your Government

Youve probably heard of refinancing, which is the act of securing a second mortgage to pay off your first. There are plenty of reasons for this, including changing your rate terms or rate length.

Streamline refinances are available for government-backed loans. Unlike typical refinances, streamlined refinances require limited credit documentation and underwriting, which may make them easier to achieve. Be aware that your loan must be current in order to qualify for a streamline refinance.

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No Extra Penalties Interest Or Late Fees

During any forbearance period granted to you, your servicer cannot charge any penalties, interest, or fees that would not have been charged if you had made your payments on time and in full. Landlords may not charge tenants any fees or penalties for late payment of rent during any forbearance period granted to the landlord.

What Has President Biden Been Doing To Offer Mortgage Relief

According to a White House press release: “Shortly after taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration extended the foreclosure moratorium and mortgage forbearance enrollment period for homeowners with government-backed mortgages to provide relief to struggling homeowners.” Additionally, as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan $9.961 has been provided for the Homeowner Assistance Fund, encouraging loan modifications and payment reduction options on all federally backed mortgages.

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Up To $30000 Per Household To Pay

• Delinquent mortgage payments
• Mortgage reinstatement or other housing-related costs related to a period of forbearance necessitated by the pandemic
• Delinquent property taxes
• Delinquent homeownerâs insurance and/or flood insurance
• Delinquent Homeowner/Condominium/Co-Op Association fees
• Delinquent mobile home lot rent

Staying Within Your Budget

To qualify for a mortgage, you have to prove to your lender that you can afford the amount youre asking for.

Mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers use your financial information to calculate your monthly housing costs and total debt load. They use this information to determine what you can afford.

Lenders and brokers consider information such as:

• your income
• your expenses
• the amount youre borrowing
• your debts

• any other debts

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What To Provide To Your Lender Or Mortgage Broker

Before preapproving you, a lender or mortgage broker will look at:

• your assets
• your income

Youll need to provide the following:

• identification
• proof you can pay for the down payment and closing costs
• information about your other assets, such as a car, cottage or boat
• information about your debts or financial obligations

For proof of employment, you may have to provide:

• a proof of your current salary or hourly pay rate
• your position and length of time with the employer
• notices of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency for the past 2 years, if youre self-employed

Your lender or mortgage broker may ask you to provide recent financial statements from bank accounts or investments. This will help them determine if you have the down payment.

Your debts or financial obligations may include your monthly payments for:

Avoiding Scams And Bad Actors

Beware of coronavirus-related scams

Submit a complaint

If you have a problem with a consumer financial product or service, you can try reaching out to the company first. Companies can usually answer questions unique to your situation and more specific to the products and services they offer. We can also help you connect with the company if you have a complaint. You can submit to the CFPB online or by calling .

For renters: See more about filing a complaint about discrimination or against a landlord

Housing discrimination

Federal laws prohibit housing discrimination. The protections they offer differ somewhat depending on whether you own or rent your home.

If you own your home, lenders and servicers may not discriminate against you for mortgage servicing practices such as forbearance and loan modifications based on your race, color, religion, national origin, sex , marital status, age, family status , disability, whether you are receiving money from a public assistance program, or whether you are exercising your rights under certain consumer protection and fair housing laws. If you believe a lender or mortgage servicer has discriminated against you, you generally can submit a complaint with the CFPB or file a fair housing complaint with HUD. More information on fair lending and protections against discrimination can be found on the and HUDs websites.

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Will My Home Be Foreclosed Now That Forbearance Has Ended

Though the forbearance period has ended for most borrowers, the CFPB and the Biden Administration have put new rules in place to prevent a massive wave of imminent foreclosures. Lenders are required to allow borrowers many options including:

If none of those options are possible for borrowers, there are still additional restrictions in place through Dec. 31, 2021. Lenders can only start the foreclosure process if the borrower has abandoned their property, has not responded to inquiries from the lender for more than 90 days , or was more than 120 days behind on their mortgage prior to the pandemic .

Alternatives To Down Payment Assistance

Here are some alternatives to down payment assistance programs:

Good Neighbor Next Door. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and teachers can buy a home for half-off the purchase price and only $100 down. The discounted portion of the purchase price is covered by a deferred payment loan that is forgiven after you’ve lived in the home for 36 months. There’s no income limit to participate.

VA loan. Veterans Affairs loans are for eligible service members, veterans, and some spouses. Eligible borrowers can get a VA loan with zero down. The VA charges a funding fee, which will be higher without a down payment. But some VA borrowers can roll that cost into their loan balance and pay nothing out of pocket upfront.

USDA loan. Eligible borrowers can get a USDA loan with zero down. USDA loans are only for properties in certain areas, usually rural. You’ll have to qualify as a low- or moderate-income household.

A 100% financing loan. This option can let you buy a house with no down payment through a private lender. But you may have to pay all or some of the closing costs. For example, NASA Federal Credit Union and Navy Federal Credit Union offer zero down mortgages to any qualifying members.

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How To Request Forbearance

As a homeowner with a federally backed mortgage loan, you will need to contact your loan servicer to request forbearance. You do not need to submit extensive documentation, mainly only affirmation of your financial hardship, which you can do over the phone. Your initial forbearance can be for up to 180 days. Depending on when your initial forbearance began, you can extend forbearance an additional 180 or even 360 days.

Landlords of multifamily units must have been current on payments as of Feb. 1, 2020, to be approved for forbearance relief. If applicable, landlords should submit an oral or written request to their servicer, who can approve the initial 30-day forbearance, with subsequent extensions of up to an additional 60 days.

If You Already Get A Qualifying Benefit

Contact the office that pays your benefit to find out if you could get an SMI loan.

The payments to your lender will be backdated to when you were first entitled to the loan.

If you get or have applied for Income Support, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, contact Jobcentre Plus.

Jobcentre Plus

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Watch Your Email For Further Instructions

Confirmation that your application has been received will be sent to the email provided in your application. Review of your application will take 90-120 days, but it might take longer if a large number of applications are received.

Please note that we will send you an email if additional information for your application is needed. You will be notified as soon as a decision has been made. To check on the status of your application, call 833-604-0879.

To get notified when new phases open, sign up for email updates:

New Jersey Housing And Mortgage Finance Agency

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What If You Have A Non

Federal regulators believe most non-government-backed lenders and loan servicers will adopt policies similar to those mandated by the CARES Act and subsequent legislation. To find out, contact your loan servicer, ask what programs it has in place to provide mortgage relief to homeowners impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, and follow any instructions you are given.

Although the CARES Act does not require private lenders to offer mortgage assistance, if you and your lender come to any type of loan modification agreement, then the law regarding not reporting reduced or paused payments to does apply to you.

If your mortgage forbearance is set to expire soon, then you may be able to request an extensionbut you must apply before forbearance ends.

What To Expect After You Apply:

• Endeavors will review your application and confirm the details of your application with you.
• Endeavors will determine how much youll receive in mortgage assistance.If there is a question of eligibility, Endeavors may request more information from you.
• If determined eligible, you will generally receive your first payment within 10-14 business days.
• Endeavors will review your application and confirm the details of your application with you.
• Endeavors will determine how much youll receive in mortgage assistance.If there is a question of eligibility, Endeavors may request more information from you.
• If determined eligible, you will generally receive your first payment within 10-14 business days.

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Freddie Mac And Fannie Mae Mortgage Assistance

Conventional loan borrowers are eligible for up to 12 months of forbearance, which won’t be reported to the credit bureaus. If you were already in an active forbearance as of Feb. 28, 2021, you may request an additional three months of forbearance .

If, at the end of the forbearance term, youre able to go back to your regular mortgage payments but are unable to pay anything additional, you may be eligible for COVID-19 Payment Deferral. With that deferral, the amount of the forbearance won’t accrue interest and would not be due until the end of the mortgage whether thats when you sell, refinance or pay off the loan.

Even if you are ineligible for deferral, your lender cannot demand a lump-sum repayment and is required to work with you to find a different solution.

If you are unable to resume your regular mortgage payments at the end of your forbearance, you have options. The Federal Housing Finance Administration, which supervises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, is discouraging lenders from pursuing foreclosure. Instead, you may be evaluated for a loan modification, which changes the terms of your mortgage.

Contacting your lender directly is the first step you should take in order to obtain a forbearance or be considered for a loan modification. This is especially important because the GSE moratoriums on foreclosures and evictions have ended. You can also find more information on the Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae websites.