$56M in Mortgage Relief Available to Homeowners in Kansas

Update: As of early 2024, the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund program discussed in this article is closed to new applicants. If you're facing a foreclosure, you might still have time to work out an alternative with your loan servicer. If you have questions about the foreclosure process in Kansas or want to learn about potential defenses to a foreclosure, consider talking to a foreclosure lawyer.

In early 2021, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law. This law created a Homeowner Assistance Fund, a federal program, to give around $10 billion to the states to help households that are behind on their mortgages and other housing expenses due to COVID-19.

By applying to the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund program, homeowners who've experienced a financial hardship because of COVID-19 can get a portion of the approximately $56 million allocated to the state. This program uses federal money to help eligible homeowners make mortgage payments and pay other home-related costs, like property taxes, homeowners' insurance, and energy costs.

What Housing Costs Are Covered Under the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program

You can use money from the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund program to pay:

• a mortgage reinstatement (overdue mortgage payments, including principal, interest, escrowed property taxes, and homeowners' insurance, plus any reasonable fees incurred because of the delinquency)
• as many as six months of upcoming mortgage payments (you must qualify for a reinstatement to get future payments)
• other property charges, such as past-due property taxes, homeowners' and flood insurance, homeowners' association fees, condominium owners' association fees, cooperative maintenance charges, common charges, and any reasonable fees connected to the delinquency, and
• overdue utility bills, including internet, broadband, electricity, gas, home energy, water, and wastewater costs.

You can get up to $35,000 for mortgage reinstatement and mortgage payment assistance, and up to $10,000 for property charges and utilities.

Eligibility Requirements for the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program

To qualify for relief from this program, you must have suffered a financial hardship (a material reduction in income or an increase in living expenses) because of the coronavirus pandemic. You also have to meet these guidelines:

• The property must be owner-occupied and located in Kansas.
• The property must be your primary residence. Second homes, investment properties, and vacant properties don't qualify.
• Your property must be a single-family home, a one- to four-unit dwelling, or a mobile home.
• Your household income for 2020 can't have exceeded 150% of the area median income.

How the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program Works

Payments from the program go directly to the loan servicer or other approved entity, not to homeowners.

How to Apply for the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program

You can submit your application online.

Avoid Homeowner Assistance Fund Scams

Be wary if you get an unsolicited offer by phone, mail, email, or text message offering mortgage relief or foreclosure rescue services. Scammers sometimes target homeowners who've been affected by COVID-19.

Homeowner Assistance Fund programs are free. If anyone asks you to pay a fee to get housing counseling or to receive foreclosure prevention services from this program, it's a scam.

Learn More About the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund Program

If you need help with the application process or have questions about the Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund program, call 855-307-KHAF or email KHAF@kshousingcorp.org. Also, review these homeowner resources.

You can also get help from a HUD-approved housing counselor at no cost. To find a counselor near you, go to HUD's website or call 800-569-4287.