Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, today announced that the State of California has been awarded $169.8 million through a competitive grant under the Hardest Hit Fund, a federal program that provides targeted aid to mortgage borrowers to prevent avoidable foreclosures.
In February, the Treasury Department allocated $213.5 million to California under a separate award from the Hardest Hit Fund distributed on a formula basis. The funding announced today comes from a total pool of $1 billion in competitive grant funding. Congresswoman Waters fought for additional money for the Fund under the fiscal 2016 government spending bill that was signed into law in December.
“I am so pleased that California has been awarded additional funding to help homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages,” Congresswoman Waters said. “The housing crisis created unprecedented challenges for households across the country. Unfortunately, California was hit particularly hard, and the effects are still being felt in the 43rd District and throughout the state. This money will provide more relief to our families to help them stay in their homes.”
Through the advocacy of Congresswoman Waters, the Hardest Hit Fund was authorized in 2010 and today’s announcement brings its total assistance to $9.6 billion for 18 states and the District of Columbia. The State of California has been awarded a total of $2.4 billion to address a variety of foreclosure prevention activities.
The Hardest Hit Fund program in California, known as Keep Your Home California, administers programs including: aid for unemployed borrowers; assistance to help homeowners catch-up on late mortgage payments; loan modification assistance for homeowners seeking principal reduction; and transitional assistance for homeowners pursuing short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. Homeowners seeking assistance under the Keep Your Home California initiative can contact the state Housing Finance Agency at keepyourhomecalifornia.org or 888-954-KEEP.
