Florida Says $6.2M Awarded for Pandemic Mortgage Relief
The Deptartment overseeing distribution has helped 386 homeowners to date and is still accepting applications. Funds used so far are about 1% of federal funding received.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) released numbers on the amount of Florida homeowners who have received mortgage-relief help after being impacted by the pandemic.
To date, DEO says it has awarded more than $6.2 million in total relief for the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), with $5.1 million of that awarded this week. The money is funded through the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), which initially gave Florida $676 million to help homeowners facing pandemic-related mortgage problems.
The federally funded HAF program was designed to mitigate financial hardships associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing homeowners’ mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and displacements. It also provides assistance with home energy services, internet, property and/or flood insurance, property taxes, and homeowner or condominium association fees.
DEO Secretary Dane Eagle says approved homeowner money “will be credited to accounts for applicants’ mortgages and other homeowner expenses, including utility bills. We are working in collaboration with more than 100 lenders and servicers and are encouraging eligible Floridians to register as soon as possible to receive an application to apply for up to $50,000 in relief.”
DEO says applicants can register on its website, and it will offer an application once registered. It started with Tier 1, which is generally lower income households. It then moved on to Tier 2. (DEO has frequently asked questions about tiers and more on its website, along with a program overview)
DEO program updates, week of May 2-6
386 homeowner applications have been approved by DEO
5,170 applications have been started by homeowners but not been submitted.
4,644 applications have been submitted to DEO by homeowners
Registrations
24,730 eligible registrations have been submitted
22,190 registrations are Tier 1, and all have been invited to apply for relief
2,540 registrations are Tier 2
Source: Florida Realtors®