OHFA Announces Changes to the State’s Foreclosure Prevention Program
COLUMBUS, OH – January 24, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — In an effort to assist more Ohioans at risk of mortgage loan default or foreclosure, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) recently announced new changes to the state’s foreclosure prevention program. Enhancements to Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative are designed to expand eligibility to reach more Ohio homeowners.
Administered by OHFA, the Restoring Stability program helps homeowners with financial hardships including unemployment, reduced wages or hours, death of a spouse, increased medical expenses or divorce. Under the recent changes, more unemployed and underemployed Ohioans may be eligible for mortgage assistance.
Other changes to the program include:
- An increase in the amount of liquid assets a homeowner may have;
- Homeowners residing in manufactured homes titled as real estate are now eligible
- Homeowners who have a discharged Chapter 7 are now eligible even if they did not reaffirm their mortgage, subject to approval by their mortgage servicer;
- Homeowners who have missed mortgage payments but are now able to make payments on their own may access up to $25,000 to reinstate their mortgages; and
- Homeowners who are unemployed and underemployed may receive full mortgage payments for up to 15 months or $20,000.
“Each of these program enhancements will help further the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s efforts in assisting thousands of Ohio homeowners struggling to maintain possession of their homes,” said OHFA Executive Director Doug Garver. “OHFA has worked tirelessly not only to help Ohioans open the doors to an affordable place to call home, but to stay in the homes they have worked so hard to obtain. OHFA remains dedicated to helping Ohio’s homeowners achieve and sustain the dream of homeownership.”
Since the implementation of the program on September 27, 2010, the program has assisted more than 3,900 homeowners at risk of loan default or foreclosure. Through agreements with more than 200 mortgage servicers, OHFA has distributed more than $31.2 million in mortgage payments, making Restoring Stability one of the largest foreclosure prevention programs in the nation. OHFA was allocated $570.4 million from the U.S. Department of Treasur’s Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) to implement the program.
Homeowners may apply for the program online at www.savethedream.ohio.gov or by calling the toll free hotline at 888-404-4674.
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About the Ohio Housing Finance Agency
OHFA is a self-supporting quasi-public agency governed by an eleven-member board. The Agency uses federal and state resources to provide housing opportunities for families and individuals through programs designed to develop, preserve and sustain affordable housing throughout the State of Ohio. OHFA is also the administrator of the state’s foreclosure prevention program, Restoring Stability: A Save the Dream Ohio Initiative.
Media Contact:
Arlyne Alston
Email: aalston (at) ohiohome (dot) org
Phone: 614.387.2863
