Virginia launches mortgage relief plan for distressed borrowers

Virginia began accepting applications on Monday for its mortgage relief program, with financial assistance provided through the federal government’s Homeowner Assistance Fund.

The state received more than $258 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which established the Homeowner Assistance Fund under provisions of the American Rescue Plan last spring. Virginia received Treasury Department approval for its plan in mid December and will send money from its program directly to mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as deed holders, insurance providers and local governments and associations, to cover homeowner payments.

“Virginia is taking aggressive steps to help people stay in their homes,” said Gov. Ralph Northam in a press release. “Owning a home is the American dream, and this new program will help keep that dream alive.”

Virginia is now the fourth state to begin accepting applications for its federally funded mortgage-relief program, joining Louisiana, Maryland and New York, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies. The state expects to assist between 13,000 to 15,000 homeowners with financial aid, said a spokesperson for Virginia Housing. Priority will be given to those with government-backed loans or in other programs for low- and moderate-income borrowers per Treasury Department guidelines.

Puerto Rico has also opened up the application process for its residents, while California received approval of its program in December and intends to accept requests shortly. Illinois also obtained government approval last month and expects to launch its program in the spring, according to a spokesperson with the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

More than $9.9 billion has been set aside for the Homeowner Assistance Fund, with funding allocated to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories to assist homeowners adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The federal program was designed to provide short-term relief to help prevent mortgage delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures through state-administered plans. States submitted their proposals for funding in late summer, but many are still awaiting for their plans to be approved from the Treasury Department.

Relief may come too late, though, for hundreds of thousands of borrowers across the country, who recently exited forbearance with no loss mitigation plan in place. While the federal moratorium on foreclosures expired last summer, servicers were prohibited from beginning foreclosure proceedings until Jan. 1. With that window now expired, resumption of foreclosures, which hit record lows during the pandemic, may now resume. Some states, however, enacted their own foreclosure moratoria, which extended the window for delinquent homeowners. In September, New York State extended its eviction and foreclosure moratorium until Jan 15.