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3-On Your Side: Emergency Homeowners' Loan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There may be some new hope for families who risk losing their homes to foreclosure. As CBS 3-On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan tells us, Pennsylvania is now accepting applications so that they can get financial assistance to stay in their houses. $105 million dollars is now being made available to residents through what's being called the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program. Pennsylvania borrowers can apply to receive up to $50,000 to assist with mortgage principal, interest, insurance and taxes.

This zero interest loan program is designed for homeowners who had a good payment record before the unexpected happened. Patricia Hasson, President of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley says, "This is for people who have lost their job and are out there looking for a new job and having difficulty paying their mortgage, or perhaps the medical issue that may be happening that has lead to the difficulty and circumstances that you can not pay your mortgage."

To qualify for the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program, homeowners must:

- Have a reduction in their gross income of at least 15 percent due to involuntary unemployment, under-employment or medical reasons.

- Homeowners must be at least 3 payments behind on their mortgage and have a reasonable likelihood of being able to resume repayment of the mortgage within two years.

Homeowners can apply for the loan, through approved counseling agencies like Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley. Hasson says, "The most important thing you can do when you call to make the appointment with us, make sure you listen to the documents that you need gather, those documents are your lifeline to getting that assistance."

Delaware also has been allocated $6 million for emergency homeowner loans, up to $30,000 per family. Applications in Delaware will be accepted beginning April 19th. New Jersey has a program in the works too, but details haven't been announced yet.

Web:

Pennsylvania: http://www.phfa.org/consumers/homeowners/ehlp.aspx
Delaware: http://www.destatehousing.com/HomeOwnership/hb_demap.html
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley: http://www.cccsdv.org/

Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3

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