Ohio Mortgage Borrowers to Get Some Financial Relief

Many states across the union are getting financial relief for its residential homeowners. With the condition of the housing industry, no state in the United States is above needing help these days. Ohio is one of the states most affected by the mortgage crisis and the federal government is trying to do something about it.

One of the new programs to help the most affected states is the Hardest Hit program. Ohio is one of the 17 states included in this program which gives financial relief to homeowners in states where the unemployment rates are the highest. Ohio received $320 million this week to help troubled homeowners – especially the ones who are currently unemployed – to get back on their feet financially. Officials expect the money will help at least 26,000 troubled homeowners avoid going through foreclosure so they can stay in their homes.

The $320 million is going to go through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s Restoring Stability program. This program allows unemployed homeowners throughout Ohio apply for financial assistance for their mortgage payments. A good portion of this money is going to go into a program that will pay for up to 15 months of financial assistance to unemployed homeowners. This will give them some relief as they search for a new job or go through job training.

Some of the other money will be allocated for other forms of help. For instance, some of it will go to help troubled homeowners catch up with their delinquent mortgage payments by offering one-time assistance. Another portion of it will go to help convince lenders and banks to reduce the principle so the homeowners can get a loan modification. The money for this type of relief may also go to help with short sales and other types of mortgage help.

Some are criticizing the program saying that the money is only going to help about one-third of the Ohio homeowners who find themselves in financial trouble. There were nearly 90,000 foreclosure filings last year and thousands more this year. But Doug Garver, the executive director of Ohio Housing Finance Agency, says that the program is a great start to something that could help thousands more in the long term.

If you live in Ohio and are in need of financial assistance for your mortgage payments as a result of unemployment, you can get more information about this program by going to www.savethedream.ohio.gov or call (888) 404-4674.