Who Does the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP) Assist?

EHLP was designed to provide mortgage payment relief to eligible homeowners who experienced a decrease in income of at least 15% directly resulting from involuntary unemployment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions and/or a medical emergency.

Homeowners had to meet other EHLP eligibility requirements to be approved as an EHLP borrower, including:

Delinquency: Homeowner must have been at least three months delinquent on mortgage payments as of June 1, 2011, as signified by notification by his or her first-lien lender/servicer.

Principal Residence: Homeowner must reside in the mortgaged property as his or her principal residence. The mortgaged property must also be a single family residence (1 to 4 unit structure, manufactured housing, cooperative, or condominium unit).

Likelihood of Foreclosure: Homeowner must have received notification of his or her lender's/servicer's intention to foreclose on his or her mortgage as a result of the delinquency, and must also have certified to the likelihood that their mortgage will be foreclosed upon.

Income Limit: Homeowner had a total household income equal to, or less than, the greater of either $75,000 or 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for a household size of four (4) persons previous to the loss of income resulting from involuntary unemployment, underemployment, and/or medical emergency/serious injury. Income included wages, salary, and self-employed earnings and income.

Mortgage Cost Burden: Under his or her current, reduced income, the homeowner's monthly mortgage payment is greater than 31% of their monthly income.

Ability to Resume Payment: Homeowner must have a reasonable likelihood of being able to afford and resume repayment of monthly mortgage and all other household debt obligations when re-employed, in accordance with program qualification guidelines.