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.
Eligible homeowners in Connecticut who've experienced a financial hardship because of the pandemic can get a portion of the approximately $123 million allocated to the state—up to $30,000 per household—by applying to the MyHomeCT program. This program uses federal money to help homeowners pay mortgage payments and other housing-related costs.
You can use money from the MyHome CT program to pay for a loan reinstatement, up to 12 months of upcoming payments, or a combination of assistance to reinstate a loan and cover upcoming mortgage payments. Assistance is limited to first-mortgage loans; second mortgages aren't eligible.
You can also get funds to pay a one-time payment of delinquent qualified non-mortgage expenses or up to 12 months of assistance to pay these costs going forward and cure an arrearage if you have one. Qualified non-mortgage expenses include:
To get mortgage and non-mortgage ongoing assistance, enough funds must remain available without going over the program's maximum assistance amount (again, $30,000) to make at least six months of payments. Some applicants might have to attend a foreclosure prevention and budgeting class to get ongoing assistance.
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) after January 21, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic. A financial hardship that started before January 21, 2020, which the pandemic exacerbated, qualifies.
Assistance for a delinquency existing from prior to January 21, 2020, is limited to three months. So, any amounts owed before October 2019 aren't eligible. But real estate property taxes that were assessed on the October 2018 Grand List and subsequent Grand Lists are eligible expenses.
You also have to meet these guidelines.
Assistance is in the form of a grant that you don't have to repay. Payments from the program go directly to the loan servicer or other approved entity, not to homeowners.
The application portal will open soon. Check www.chfa.org/myhomect to get updates and submit your application. You can also sign up for email updates about when the program will begin taking applications.
You'll have to provide some documentation with your application, like mortgage statements, proof of income (such as pay stubs or tax returns), and a government-issued ID (like a driver's license). So, in the meantime, you can start gathering these items and putting them in an electronic format, such as a pdf.
Be wary if you get an unsolicited offer by phone, mail, email, or text message offering mortgage relief or foreclosure rescue services. Scammers are increasingly targeting 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.
If you need help with the application process or have questions about the MyHomeCT program, call 860-721-9501, 860-727-6888, or 844-CT1-HOME or email myhomect@chfa.org. Also, be sure to review the program's FAQs.
Homeowners facing foreclosure may be referred to a CHFA/HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency. You may also get help by going to HUD's website or calling 800-569-4287 to contact a housing counselor. A HUD-approved housing counselor will assist you at no cost.
Effective date: May 2022