Are you a New York homeowner behind on your mortgage?

SBCO, a project of Agudath Israel, is pleased to announce an opportunity for New York State homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments on account of Covid-19, to receive assistance.

The New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), a program designed and administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) benefits low to moderate-income homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, property taxes, water or sewer bills, as well as owners of cooperative or condo units behind on maintenance fees, and manufactured homeowners behind on chattel loans or retail installment contracts.

In addition, the HAF program is working in partnership with the Office of the New York State Attorney General to advocate with mortgage lenders and mortgage servicers to ensure homeowners are receiving all available relief under federal and state rules. This includes extended mortgage terms, deferment of missed payments or forbearance amounts, and lower interest rates to reduce monthly payments.

Benefits:

Eligible applicants may receive financial assistance to catch up on missed housing payments, to reduce mortgage debt to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable, and for homeowners who are unemployed, assistance with up to six months of future housing payments.

Awards will be capped at $50,000 per household. Assistance will be structured as a five-year, non-interest, non-amortizing forgivable loan. If the homeowner remains in the home for a period of five years, the loan will be fully forgiven.

Eligibility:

Eligible applicants must have household incomes at or below 100 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and must be at least 30 days delinquent on monthly housing payments for their primary residence.

Application Process:

Applications will be accepted beginning Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. For the best chance at being awarded, SBCO recommends preparing all documents for upload in advance.

Please call SBCO at 718-435-1300 and speak with a housing counselor to determine eligibility, and to begin the application process. SBCO offices will be open to the public on January 3rd from 10-5 to assist homeowners who need assistance or for those who do not have internet access.

SBCO can be contacted at 718-435-1300, or [email protected], and is located at 4006 18th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11218.