Last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) traveled to Los Angeles and Sacramento to host free events for almost 1,800 California homeowners through the Making Home Affordable Program. To date, Treasury and HUD have hosted 67 free homeowner events across the country — including 14 in the Golden State.
Homeowners at the event in Los Angeles
Many struggling homeowners are often hesitant to reach out for help. These events offer them the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a representative from their mortgage company to discuss options to avoid foreclosure. At the end of these events, several California homeowners said the opportunity to meet face-to-face with their mortgage company was a valuable experience well worth their time.
One Placerville homeowner told us, “I never thought I would be in this situation. I felt embarrassed and alone. But having a conversation today was a big weight off of my shoulders, and it looks like they will be able to offer some help so I can get back on my feet.”
This homeowner was one of hundreds who learned about Keep Your Home California—a program designed by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) especially for California residents and funded by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Hardest Hit Fund.
One of the housing counselors at the Los Angeles event was actually a beneficiary of the program himself.
Wayne M., a homeownership counselor for Neighborhood Housing Services, was recently approved for the Keep Your Home California Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program, which offers as much as $20,000 to help homeowners catch up on their mortgage payments. He and his wife suffered from pay cuts that made it hard to keep up with their bills. It got tougher when his wife was asked to take unpaid furlough days.
“Just a little tweak and you can get people back to normal. The little tweak really helped me out,” Wayne said. “Basically, it bought me some time … gave me some breathing room.”
The father of three and his wife have regained their financial footing and are now back on track with their mortgage payments.
Enrollment in the state-run program has increased every month since starting a year ago, said Diane Richardson, program director of Keep Your Home California.
“The program continues to grow as more people learn about it,” said Richardson. “We really appreciate and enjoy getting the word out through events, giving us that face-to-face connection with homeowners.”
Sixteen of the largest mortgage companies participated in the California events, as did numerous local HUD-approved housing counseling organizations.
The Administration will be partnering with the HOPE NOW Alliance and NeighborWorks America to host more events for homeowners in the coming months, including in Chicago on April 23, Indianapolis on April 25 and Atlanta on June 1-2. An additional event is being planned for New Orleans.
If you are a homeowner in need of mortgage assistance, please visit our website MakingHomeAffordable.gov or call 1-888-995 HOPE (4673) for information and updates.