Huber Ridge Area

"Hardest Hit Fund" foreclosure prevention program - Help/Assistance is here

Following the recent release of $172 million in federal funds to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s “Hardest Hit Fund” foreclosure prevention program, several offices have asked how constituents can best access this assistance.  The quick and easy answer is for any constituent to contact the “Save the Dream” program run by the Department of Commerce.  Whether a homeowner is in foreclosure already, or is at risk of falling behind on their mortgage, Save the Dream is a single point of entry for various state/federal/local programs and can help direct constituents to appropriate, legitimate resources.

Save the Dream Contact Info

http://savethedream.ohio.gov/

Phone: 888-404-4674     888-404-4674      Monday – Friday 7am to 7pm

Ohio Hardest Hit Fund info

The HHF will not begin until September 27^th, but homeowners should not wait until then to contact Save the Dream.  HHF will compliment and boost ongoing efforts, which constituents can gain access to immediately.

In addition to supporting critical housing counseling in Ohio, the HHF federal funds can be used for the following:

• Rescue Payment Assistance will provide a payment to a participating homeowner's servicer to help bring the homeowner current on his or her delinquent mortgage. The payment could cover principal, interest, fees, delinquent taxes or escrow shortage and homeowners insurance.

• Partial Mortgage Payment Assistance will support unemployed homeowners by providing partial mortgage payments while they search for a job or participate in job training.

• Modification Assistance with Principal Reduction will provide an incentive payment to servicers to reduce a participating homeowner's mortgage principal to the level necessary to achieve a loan modification with a target of a 115 percent loan-to–value ratio or less. This program should increase the number of loan modifications that are approved and available to both HAMP eligible and non-HAMP eligible borrowers.

• Transitional Assistance will offer an incentive to servicers to complete short sales and deed-in-lieu agreements to help homeowners exit their homes gracefully. This will allow homeowners who cannot sustain homeownership to pursue alternatives to foreclosure, reducing the negative impact on their credit rating and losses to the servicer.

The full Hardest Hit Fund Proposal can be found here: http://www.ohiohome.org/homebuyer/HHFProposal.pdf