Eligibility – Oregon Homeowner Assistance Fund (2024)

Am I Eligible for This Program?

As the program winds down, the Homeowner Assistance Fund helps homeowners who are actively in foreclosure or the most risk of housing displacement.

General Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply, homeowners must meet the general eligibility requirements listed below. General eligibilityincludes homeowners whomeet the following requirements:

1. You’re living at the property as your primary residence. An exception may apply if you were displaced by a state-recognized natural disaster or a casualty loss (sudden or unexpected event, like a fire) and plan to return to the property.
2. The property is a one- to four-unit residential property, condominium, manufactured home, or floating home.
3. You’re listed as a borrower on the mortgage or are the owner of the property. Please note: If an estate or deceased individual is an owner; you’re using a power of attorney, trust, or other entity; or there are others on the title that don’t live at the property, you may have title issues that delay the application or result in a denial if you’re not an owner. However, you may be eligible for legal help regarding owner title issues through the Oregon Homeowner Legal Assistance project.
4. You experienced financial hardship (either a reduction in income or increase in living expenses) due to the coronavirus pandemic after Jan. 21, 2020.
5. Your original mortgage principal balance must be at or below the Federal Housing Finance Agency conforming loan limits in place on the date you entered into your mortgage.
6. Your mortgage cannot be an open home equity line of credit (HELOC). OHCS will verify that any line of credit is closed.
7. If you have a mortgage, your mortgage servicer must be enrolled in the OHCS Homeowner Assistance Fund program. To confirm if your mortgage servicer or housing expense entity has been enrolled in the program, view our list of participating servicers (English | Spanish). OHCS will only request to enroll your mortgage servicer twice.
8. For the Past-Due Payment Relief program:
   • You’re behind on your housing payments. If you’re seeking assistance with just your county property taxes, you’re at least two years past due on your property tax payments.
   • The total post-due amount on your mortgage or other housing cost must be less than $50,000 at the time your application meets the minimum requirements and is submitted for processing. If you owe more than $50,000, as determined by OHCS and/or your servicer or housing cost provider, your application will be denied.
   • You must be at or below 150% area median income or 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever isgreater. (See chart | Spanish | Chinese | Russian | Vietnamese).
   • You don’t have enough liquid assets to pay the past-due amounts and bring your housing costs current. Liquid assets include all cash, bank accounts, and investment accounts, excluding retirement accounts and 529 college plans.
   • You must be able to afford your housing costs. Your housing expense to gross monthly income ratio must be 43% or less. If your monthly housing costs are $860 and your income is $2,000, your ratio is 43% ($860 / $2,000 = 0.43).
9. For the Ongoing Payment Relief program:
   • Homeowners must beat or below 100% area median incomeor100% of the median income for the United States, whichever isgreater. (See chart | Spanish | Chinese | Russian | Vietnamese).
   • You don’t have enough liquid assets to pay three months of your current housing costs. Liquid assets include all cash, bank accounts, and investment accounts, excluding retirement accounts and 529 college plans.

Note: OHCS does not provide assistance for homeowner’s insurance unless that cost is part of your escrow charges in your monthly mortgage payment.

There are other general eligibility requirements that apply to certain applications, mortgages, or personal situations. If these pertain to your application, you will be informed during the application process.

Additional Eligibility Criteria

As the program winds down, HAF intake partners will be able to submit HAF applications on behalf of homeowners who are in foreclosure and who meet all the general eligibility criteria above. A homeowner is in foreclosure if ONE of the following applies:

• Nonjudicial Foreclosure. You received a Notice of Sale with a scheduled sale or auction date, sent by a third-party trustee or law firm.
• Judicial Action. You were served with a summons and complaint for foreclosure of a manufactured home, forfeiture of a land sale contract, or eviction from a manufactured home park.
• Property Tax Foreclosure Redemption Period. For two years after the homeowner’s county completed a tax lien foreclosure, homeowners are in the property tax redemption period. The redemption period is the amount of time allowed to pay off back taxes, plus interest and fees. It is the time between a county tax foreclosure and loss of the property to the county. In rare cases, HAF can help a homeowner redeem the property from the county.

Homeowners in foreclosure must first work with a HAF intake partner to evaluate their workout options and the possibility of submitting a HAF application. While working with an intake partner is free for the homeowner, please know that HAF intake partners may not be able to accommodate last-minute requests, will require their own intake paperwork, and may require completion of foreclosure avoidance counseling.

HAF intake partners can also represent homeowners in the pre-foreclosure Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance mediation program where a homeowner meets with their servicer to explore workout options. Homeowners are encouraged to take any servicer workout option available because HAF funds may be fully allocated and are intended as a last resort. Servicers or lenders typically start this process, and the program has helped many homeowners. However, it is best to wait for a servicer or lender to start the process; if a homeowner initiates the process too early, they can increase the risk of foreclosure and limit their options.

Do you meet these criteria? See How to Apply.

Can I Reapply?

A homeowner may only receive HAF assistance once. If you received assistance, you may not apply again.

If your application is submitted was withdrawn, you may be able to reapply if you go into foreclosure. Please email us with your name and prior HAF application number to find out. For any reapplications, foreclosures will receive priority and other applications may be paused to see how much funding remains.