APRIL 2015

KeepYourHomeCalifornia | Newsletter

Criteria of Programs Expanded to Help Homeowners Attain Affordable Mortgage Payments

Keep Your Home California recently announced changes to the Principal Reduction Program and the Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program to help more low and moderate income homeowners remain in their homes.

The changes to the Principal Reduction Program will assist homeowners who have suffered a financial hardship attain an affordable monthly mortgage payment and provide them with an opportunity to solve their mortgage troubles, before they fall behind on their payments. The state program, which is overseen by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), can provide up to $100,000 in assistance to eligible homeowners. For homeowners who have already fallen behind on their monthly payments, Keep Your Home California more than doubled the amount of Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program funding that is available to help homeowners catch-up on past due mortgages.

"Despite an improving economy and job market, there are still many homeowners who are struggling every month or just need a little help to get back on track with their payments," said Tia Boatman Patterson, Executive Director of CalHFA. "Our goal is to help California homeowners prevent avoidable foreclosures, and the changes to the program are the latest in that effort."

The program criteria changes affect the Principal Reduction Program, which allows homeowners with unaffordable monthly mortgage payments to apply for as much as $100,000 in assistance to reduce the principal balance. Principal reductions often lead to savings of hundreds of dollars each month on homeowners' mortgage payments.

The state-managed program has also more than doubled the funding limit for the Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program. Homeowners who are behind at least two months on their payments can now receive up to $54,000 to help them catch up on their past-due mortgage payments. The previous maximum was $25,000.

Click here to read the entire press release

California Financial Literacy Month

Since 2001, April has been designated California Financial Literacy Month to highlight the importance of financial literacy. During the month, public and private-sector entities conduct programs to encourage Californians to better understand saving, investing and credit choices, and learn how to guard against identity theft, elder financial abuse, and other financial scams.

On April 23, California State Controller Betty Yee, State Assemblymember Matt Dababneh, and the California Department of Business Oversight hosted a Financial Literacy Resource Fair at the State Capitol where several organizations, including Keep Your Home California, attended to provide important information to help people better understand and prepare for the financial decisions they are faced with in their daily lives.

Although April is drawing to a close, financial education is an ongoing process and there are still opportunities for Californians to learn more about the resources that are available. State Controller Yee and the Department of Business Oversight are partnering again to host another Financial Literacy Fair in Los Angeles on April 29. There is also a wealth of information posted on the California Financial Literacy Month Blog.

Website Updates

There have been several changes at Keep Your Home California in the past few months - and at times it can seem difficult to keep up with all the new information. As a result of all the changes, we have made various updates to our website, to ensure the latest information is available. Some of the webpages that have been updated recently include the following:

Programs - The summary guidelines have been updated for all of the programs in the past couple months, which are posted on each of the program webpages listed on the Programs webpage. Additionally, the new Reverse Mortgage Assistance Pilot Program is linked on this webpage.

Eligibility Calculator - To reflect the recent program changes, the Eligibility Calculator was updated and a new question was added to give homeowners a better understanding for which programs they may be candidates, before calling to apply.

Frequent Questions - There were numerous updates made to the "Frequently Asked Questions" webpage to describe the new program features as well as new qualification criteria.

In addition to the website, any time someone has a question about Keep Your Home California, they can reach one of our representatives at the toll free phone number 888-954-KEEP (5337).

Funding

(as of April 28, 2015)

Programs	Homeowners Assisted	Total Amount Distributed
Unemployment Mortgage Assistance	36,104	$523,461,419.83
Principal Reduction Program	5,645	$338,849,177.95
Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program	8,896	$121,038,756.34
Reverse Mortgage Assistance Pilot Program	50	$599,469.44
Transition Assistance Program	858	$3,046,129.66
Total Program Funds Allocated	51,553	$986,994,953.22

Recent Blog Post:

Employment Development Department, Keep Your Home California team up to connect with more than
1 million out-of-work Californians about Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program

California's economy continues to improve, with more than 1.53 million jobs created since the recovery started in early 2010 - and the lowest unemployment rate in more than six years.

Despite the solid job growth, many Californians are still struggling to find work. In fact, there are still 1.32 million Californians looking for work - the equivalent of everyone in San Diego. Read More

Success Story: Ana G.

Ana, originally from the Philippines, lost her husband in February 2013.

The single mom of a 6-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter says living on a single income with two children is challenging. Ana needed help, and that's when she turned to Keep Your Home California. Read More

Monthly Question & Answer

Q: If I receive transition assistance benefits from a Proprietary program, am I still eligible to receive Keep Your Home California Transition Assistance Program benefits?

A: If you receive transition assistance benefits from a Proprietary program, you may be eligible to receive Keep Your Home California Transition Assistance Program benefits - provided the Proprietary program funds do not exceed $5,000 dollars. See the examples below:

In cases where the Servicer has approved the homeowner for Proprietary program funds, the following maximums apply:

Proprietary - TAP dollars will be limited to the difference between the Proprietary transition fund benefits less than $5000 and the TAP maximum benefit of $5,000 per household.
- If the Proprietary program benefit is = $4,000 the TAP program benefit will be = $1,000 = Total benefit per household of $5,000.
- If the Proprietary program benefit is = $10,000 the TAP benefits will be zero because the Total benefit per household of $5,000. In this example the Proprietary program benefit amount is greater than the Total maximum benefit per household.

See more frequently asked questions

Dollar Assistance Provided to Date by County

(as of April 28, 2015)

View Most Recent Servicer Scorecard

To see all Servicer Scorecards, please visit the Participating Servicers webpage.

Upcoming Events

April 29, 2015
9:00am - 4:00pm
Housing Clinic
Oakland, CA

April 29, 2015
10:00am - 11:00am
Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Clinic
Los Angeles, CA

April 29, 2015
1:00pm - 7:00pm
First Time Home Buyer Course
Oakland, CA

May 2, 2015
10:00am - 12:00pm
Mortgage Assistance Clinic
Riverside, CA

May 6, 2015
9:00am - 4:00pm
Housing Clinic
Oakland, CA

May 9, 2015
9:00am - 1:00pm
Housing Clinic
Oakland, CA

May 9, 2015
9:00am - 4:00pm
First Time Home Buyer Course
Oakland, CA

May 13, 2015
9:00am - 4:00pm
Housing Clinic
Oakland, CA

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