New changes have been made to eligibility requirements for the California Mortgage Relief Program, meaning more homeowners can now get financial assistance.
There are four main ways eligibility has changed.
Homeowners who have previously received assistance but are still eligible and need more help can now get additional money with a maximum of $80,000.
Assistance is also now available for homeowners with partial claim second mortgages or loan deferrals taken during or after January 2020.
The delinquency date for assistance with past-due mortgage and property tax payments was reset to March 1, 2023.
And homeowners of a primary residence with up to four units may now be eligible.
President of CalHFA Homeowner Relief Corporation Rebecca Franklin said they made these changes in an attempt to stay up to date with the impacts of the pandemic.
“We really make it our mission in the program to continually assess where the need is and then meet that need with assistance," she said. "Just like no one knew the pandemic was coming, nobody knew how it was going to roll out, nobody knows how it's going to linger and its effect. We want to continue to assess the need of the homeowners in this state and then meet them with that need.”
Franklin said she wants people to know the program is meant to help, and with these changes she hopes even more Californians take advantage of it.
"A lot of times, people hear about we're giving away $80,000, you don't have to pay it back, it's too good to be true, [but] believe it. It's real. We're here to help and, you know, just really encouraging people to understand that they didn't cause the pandemic. They didn't cause the situation and they deserve to get caught up," said Franklin.
If you’d like to learn more about the program, click here.
