State gets $88 mil in TARP funds

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wallowa County homeowners who are unemployed or underemployed may be eligible to receive Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to avoid foreclosure on their homes by the end of the year.

Oregon will receive $88 million in Hardest Hit foreclosure assistance funds and has identified 20 counties, including Wallowa County, as those hardest hit by unemployment. Those counties will receive 80 percent of the $88 million to be dispersed by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) through five programs.

The remaining 16 counties will share the other 20 percent of the funds.

The five programs are:

? Loan Modification Assistance, to help homeowners on the verge of modifying their existing mortgages but who require a small amount of additional money to do so.

? Mortgage Payment Assistance, to help economically distressed homeowners pay their mortgages for up to one year.

? Loan Preservation Assistance, for recipients of the Mortgage Payment Assistance who regain employment but still need to modify a loan, pay arrearages, or clear other significant financial penalties.

? Transitional Assistance, for homeowners who remain unemployed after the time limit for Mortgage Payment Assistance is up. In such cases, the program will assist homeowners in moving to affordable, likely rental, homes.

? Loan Refinancing Program, to help low- to moderate-income homeowners in counties experiencing dramatic declines in housing values restructure and/or refinance their loans as an affordable mortgage.

For immediate assistance with foreclosure issues call 1-800-723-3638.

For further information on the programs visit (http://www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org)