Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance

If you have fallen behind in making your monthly mortgage payments, you may be eligible for assistance from one the following programs: the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's (PHFA) Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Loss Mitigation Program, or the Veterans Administration (VA) Refunding Program. Bankruptcy is another option for some families.

Call the Unemployment Information Center at 215-557-0822 for help if you are behind on your mortgage.  Our housing counselors may be able to help you.

Housing links:

• Homeowner's Survival Guide
• Fight for HEMAP and FHA
• FHA
• Foreclosure Crisis Committee
• Foreclosure Prevention

Pennsylvania Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP)

HEMAP is a program of the state of Pennsylvania which will loan you money to pay your mortgage for up to 24 months.  You must pay it back when you are financially able, but not before. 

ELIGIBILITY

1. You must be less than 24 months behind in your mortgage or you must have money available to you to bring the number of months you are behind down to 24 months or less;
2. Your default must be for circumstances beyond your control;
3. You must have a reasonable prospect of being able to start making your mortgage payments again within 24 months of the beginning of your default.
4. Your loan must not presently be insured by FHA.

The HEMAP program can provide you with a loan that will bring your mortgage current. The program can also lend you money to pay current payments for a total of 24 months.  Repayment of the HEMAP loan is based on your income and your ability to pay.

To apply for HEMAP you are supposed to get a notice (Act 91 notice) from your mortgage company telling you of your right to apply for HEMAP.  It is supposed to come both certified and first class.  It is required to be sent prior to any foreclosure action in the state of Pennsylvania.  When you get the Act 91 notice you have 33 days to apply to one of the housing counselors who take HEMAP applications. All foreclosure actions cease until a decision is made on your eligibility.  If you never received the Act 91 notice, but are in foreclosure, you can apply by getting a copy of the notice from your foreclosure complaint or the mortgage company and telling the counseling agency that you never received the Act 91 notice.

The HEMAP webpage http://phfa.org/programs/hemap/index.htm will link you to a listing of housing counselors who can process your HEMAP application or call PUP at 215-557-0822 for the listing.  The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency handles HEMAP approvals and loans.

Contact Points for HEMAP

• Payments: 2101 North Front Street, P.O. Box 15206, Harrisburg, PA 17105 15206
• Correspondence: 2101 North Front Street, P.O. Box 15530, Harrisburg, PA 17105-15530
• Telephone: (717) 780-3940, (800) 342-2397 FAX (717) 780-3995 TTY (717) 780-1869

In the application process, the homeowner will need to convince the agency that s/he meets the above criteria. To show that s/he meets the above criteria, the homeowner will need to have answers to the following questions:

1. What events led the homeowner to fall behind on his/her mortgage? (i.e. unemployment, illness, death in the family, etc.)
2. When did it happen? Carefully write down all events that led to the default and the dates that they occurred.
3. Can you prove what happened? Letters from friends, doctors, employers, relatives, etc. are extremely helpful in documenting and proving that a situation occurred.
4. How will things get better within two years? Write down each reason.

• Do you have a good work history?
• Are you in a training program?
• Are you temporarily laid off from your job?
• Will your other debts be paid by then?
• Can you take in roomers or boarders?

Once an eligible homeowner can answer the above questions, s/he can then begin to fill out the application for the appropriate program.

APPLYING

The mortgage company must send the homeowner an Act 91 Notice prior to initiating foreclosure proceedings. The Act 91 notice is a statement of the homeowner's right to apply for the program.

Once the lender has sent the Act 91 notice, the homeowner then has 30 days to contact and make an appointment with the approved counseling agency for assistance in applying for the program. A list of the approved counseling agencies for your area should be attached with your Act 91 notice, but we have also included a list of the approved counseling agencies for Philadelphia on the page following.

The counseling agency will assist the homeowner with completing and submitting the application to PHFA. The homeowner must submit the application through one of the approved counseling agencies. The following page lists all the approved counseling agencies in Philadelphia. For more information from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency that runs the HEMAP program, you can call them at 1-800-342-2397 or, if you have access to the Internet, you can visit them at http://www.phfa.org.

Do not send the application directly to PHFA. Be sure to go through a Counseling Agency.

Families who are denied HEMAP may get help with the appeal from the Unemployment Information Center (215) 557-0848 or Community Legal Services (215) 981-3700.

Approved HEMAP Counseling Agencies