Illinois Housing
Development Authority Announces Application Deadline for
the Hardest Hit Program
Homeowners have less than one
week to apply for $35,000 in mortgage payment assistance
before the program closes on April 30
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[April 27, 2019]
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is announcing the wind
down of the Illinois Hardest Hit program, a federally funded initiative
that helps those facing foreclosure to stay in their homes. Homeowners
who are struggling to pay their mortgages due to unemployment,
underemployment or financial hardship are encouraged to apply for up to
$35,000 in mortgage payment assistance before the program closes on
April 30. Interested homeowners can apply online for free at
www.illinoishardesthit.org
and will be automatically linked with a local housing agency that will
answer questions, prescreen for eligibility and assist homeowners in
preparing the application and assembling the required supporting
documentation.
“The Hardest Hit program leverages federal dollars to keep families,
seniors and persons with disabilities from becoming homeless,” said
Governor JB Pritzker. “I encourage homeowners struggling to make their
mortgage payments to act now and apply before the deadline to ensure
they receive assistance and can stay in their homes.”
Originally launched in September 2011, the Hardest Hit program provides
up to $35,000 in forgivable assistance to homeowners who have
experienced a 15% reduction in income due to a qualifying financial
hardship. Hardships include unemployment or underemployment, decrease or
loss of business income, loss of income due to disability or
health-related event, or the death or divorce of a spouse or titleholder
of the house. The program reinstates delinquent mortgages by paying all
mortgage arrearage, fees and penalties, and will and makes loan payments
on behalf of the borrower for up to 12 months. The assistance lets
eligible homeowners stay in their home while they work to regain
employment and financial stability. As of April 2019 - 20,147
Illinois families have received mortgage payment assistance through the
program.
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“Not only do foreclosures impact families, but they impact the entire
neighborhood. I supported the creation and funding of the Hardest Hit Fund
because I believe that we still have work to do to address problems in the
housing market and to bring stability back to our communities,” U.S. Senator
Dick Durbin (D-IL) said. “I encourage anyone who is currently struggling to make
their mortgage payments to apply before the deadline.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury established the Hardest Hit Fund in 2010 to
provide targeted assistance to families in states hit hard by the economic and
housing market downturn. HHF is funded through the Troubled Asset Relief Program
(TARP) and Illinois was initially approved to receive $446 million in 2010. IHDA,
as the state housing finance agency, was chosen to administer these funds. In
December 2015, President Obama signed the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L.
114-113), which, through Senator Durbin’s leadership, transferred an additional
$2 billion from TARP to the HHF program. After the completion of the two funding
rounds, Treasury allocated $269 million in Hardest Hit Funds to Illinois,
bringing the net funding received to over $715 million. As the state’s Housing
Finance Agency, IHDA administers the program and used funds to create five
foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization programs to assist at-risk
homeowners.
“While many states were recovering quickly from the housing crisis, Illinois was
lagging behind,” said IHDA Executive Director Audra Hamernik. “As the
administrator of the Hardest Hit program, I am proud to report IHDA has assisted
over 20,100 homeowners across 101 of the 102 counties in Illinois since the
program originated in 2011.”
Free applications for the program are available online through IHDA's Illinois
Hardest Hit website until April 30, 2019:
www.illinoishardesthit.org.
[Illinois Housing Development
Authority] |