An estimated 5.5 million homeowners facing imminent foreclosure are one signature away from assistance thanks to legislation approved in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The plan is modeled after the successful Pennsylvania program Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) introduced and steered into law in 1983, the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) as a state representative in the Pennsylvania legislature. Since HEMAP’s inception in Pennsylvania, more than 43,000 owners have avoided losing their homes.
The nationwide program, HEMA, would acquire $3 billion from the unused Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to make mortgage avoidance funds available for unemployed homeowners and those suffering financial distress. The legislation calls for lenders to inform a homeowner in mortgage default, about the HEMA program before the foreclosure process can begin. If eligible, a homeowner makes a fractional payment to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) instead of the lender. Provided the homeowner has a reasonable probability of resuming mortgage payments, HUD will assume full payment to the lender. Once the homeowner’s immediate financial problems are resolved, they reassume full responsibility for the mortgage and pay back the HUD for the temporary loan.
The legislation was included in the Wall Street Financial Reform and Consumer Act.
Do you think this is just a band-aide measure or a permanent fix? Here is the bug in the bed-rug – “Provided the homeowner has a reasonable probability of resuming mortgage payments, HUD will assume full payment to the lender.” With job loses at an all time high this might prove to be another pipe-dream. At least, thank god, it will help those who have stable employment.
Comment by Tax Deed Sales Treasure Hunter — July 26th, 2010 @ 9:35 am
Is Missouri eligible for this program? I haven’t heard of this on the TV and we have just missed the forebearance payment after 33 years of perfect credit because we did not get our unemployment check.
I am here to say people who are employed has absolutely no idea how hard it is to even get a job for a person over 56. I was a top Director in the consumer products industry. I have been out of work over a year and a half. NOTHING IN THIS WORLD COULD EVER PREPARE A PERSON RIGHT NOW IN THESE TIMES TO HANDLE THIS STRESS. To all the comments on “just get any part time job”…hell the college kids can’t even find work. I would love to have any job. When I walk in that door, after sending out 200 resumes and getting one interview (very fortunate in these days)and they see my age, there are no we’ll hire you, or, second interviews because they don’t want to hire someone with over 15 years of experience, they want gold. The cream of the crop, young, vibrant, cheap and there is no health concerns at the age 30+ bracket. All in all, an older interviewee has more work ethics in one fingernail than a young fresh face. We worked our asses off to get here. We were let go because there was no business, the company can’t make money if it can’t sell products.
So we are losing everything we ever worked for. Our savings, our houses, our 401K retirements, our entire lifetime of self-esteem and pride of working hard and keeping our credit scores perfectly high. What happens to our older not yet retired people in the great USA? All these months weeks and days of searching applying and hanging onto the hope that this will all turn around has come to an end. What do we do? Live with our children? We are now Penniless! Our dignity is gone! When I think of all the jobs here going overseas it makes me want to throw up. It could of been our job, each one of us, the unemployed could be working. We don’t care at this minute what kind of job we have, WE JUST WANT A JOB!
Think about what it means to those who work getting. that paycheck every week. what if you didn’t get that paycheck? Where would you be? We have to have a means to survive. Our government has to provide Manufacturing and any other business the means to hire. What makes this so horrible is all YOUR TAX DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES. So we now make them rich and as a tax payer you are giving other countries jobs, money, and the means to survive. Fight for us, the people who built these USA companies. We helped to make them rich, and with just a flick of the pen, they can Fire At Will! I’ll be in the line with 2,000 people to get a part time or full time position as always, see you there, if your under 50 you’ll get the job, think about that when you are a republican.
Billions of dollars overseas, help the corporate world become richer and screw all the people that cost a little more in the USA, money money money, its all so horrible that corporate America is only out for the buck. Doesn’t it make you proud to be an American? Keep paying for those tax breaks for the rich, in the long run, you’ll also be paying my food, healthcare and I won’t be able to help your state fix the budgets because I’m not working and they aren’t able to get much from my unemployment.Pray for us, we have no where to turn.
If I could be part of this program, it would be an answer to a prayer.
Write me at jcjjjs@charter.net if you can help me get in this program.
Comment by Tom — July 26th, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
For the past 7 years, rising property taxes have exceeded my gross annual income on my home of the past 45 years (we have no mortgage). We have looked high and low for assistance with this problem. The state has terminated the Homestead Act in 1976. We have no Prop 13 type protection from rising taxes. And this year, to throw salt on the wound, our assessment increased by 65%. We can’t pay it, much less the back taxes. It seems there is no option but to die on the street like cowards, or make ‘custer’s last stand’ and die honorably, fighting the good fight. The legal options have all run out; there is no help for low income people who’ve been on their land for generations and depend on that land for food production (gardening and farm animals), but cannot get a Sect 497 status (farm or open space). Our 1/2 acre on a swamp doesn’t qualify. Our taxes 45 years ago used to be 1 weekly paycheck. Now they are about 48 weekly paycheck’s worth, if you count our current income.
It’s appalling that in America, the freest nation on earth (so we’re taught), one cannot be safe and secure in the home that one built with hard labor half a century earlier.
Comment by MarkW — January 25th, 2011 @ 12:04 am