Troubled homeowners in Massachusetts have just a few days left to apply for up to $50,000 in no-interest forgivable loans to help pay their mortgages - part of a federal program to help jobless homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The deadline to apply for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program is midnight Friday. As much as $61 million is slated for Massachusetts, funding that is expected to help more than 1,200 out-of-work homeowners.
Lewis Finfer, who is executive director of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, worries that not enough homeowners have applied. Only 1,820 Massachusetts homeowners have submitted prescreening applications, and of those only 864 are probably eligible, according to a survey of nonprofits that are collecting applications.
“We are working hard to get the word out,’’ Finfer said.
The program is supposed to provide $1 billion in loans in 32 states and Puerto Rico. It was approved by Congress last summer and was expected to be functioning by the end of 2010. But applications were made available only in late June, and the money needs to be allocated by Sept. 30.
To qualify, homeowners’ income must have dropped by at least 15 percent due to unemployment, a pay cut, or a health emergency. They must be at least three months behind on their mortgage and facing foreclosure.
To apply: call 855-346-3345 or go to www.findehlp.org.
