Homeowner Assistance Fund announces two-thirds of coronavirus aid disbursed

The majority of homeowner assistance fund distributions appear to be done as follows: Appears on the 3rd anniversary Next month, the state Housing Authority will report that it has made progress in addressing processing issues.

Of note is the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. To address delays, we had to bring processes in-house that were handled through a vendorreported on Monday that it was able to provide $10.7 million in funding to people in need last month, up from $9 million in December.

“We continue to make steady progress in putting financial assistance into the hands of homeowners,” Robin Wisman, executive director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, said in a press release. Stated.

The state, which is expected to allocate a total of $350 million, continues to work to ensure applicants are enrolled in the current system that has been in place since switching vendors.

Meanwhile, state allocations totaling $9.96 billion in HAF funds were at least two-thirds complete by the end of the third quarter, with $6.68 billion in assistance going to needy homeowners, according to the latest report. It is said that it was sent to someone.It has increased from a little over half In the second quarter.

Data from the National Council of State Housing Corporations shows that as of this writing, roughly half of the states, 23, have ended the program, suggesting that many states have ended distributions. NCSHA tracks the status of programs in various jurisdictions.

Processing delays and applications not being completed by the program’s deadline appear to have been the main challenge to the program’s efficiency, which helped cushion the impact of the pandemic’s reduction in housing relief. ing.

Figures tracked by the Treasury Department regarding denial reasons show that in the third quarter of last year, “the application was not completed within the program period” was an issue for 39% of homeowners.

With the exception of 32% of homeowners with unknown reasons, that percentage far exceeded the numbers for the next most popular category. 9% have no coronavirus-related difficulties. Income qualification, 7%. And in states where this is a prerequisite, the rate of non-delinquency was 6%.

Other reasons the state program turned away homeowners include that the delinquent amount was above the program’s 3% cap. 2% of properties were not primary residences. and the principal amount exceeded the conforming limit by 1%.

The servicer ineligibility rate is particularly low at 1%, suggesting that there is a public mandate for mortgage companies to address HAFs such as: Federal Housing Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureauand new york It has wide persuasive power in the industry.

Although states use most of the funds to pay for mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures, HAF funds could also cover other housing costs, such as utilities.

Ministry of Finance also adds real estate valuation clean energy loan On the list of housing-related financial issues, countries may decide to allocate HAF funds to the following areas: last year.

PACE loans, used for clean energy home improvements such as solar panels, are super liens that move with the property rather than obligations that remain with the borrower.

The American Rescue Plan Act established the Homeowner Assistance Fund in March 2021.

In addition to providing nearly $10 billion in assistance to homeowners, the plan allocated more than $21.55 billion for rental relief, with smaller allocations for other forms of housing issues.