Help mortgage

The NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund offers a Mortgage Payment Program to North Carolina homeowners who are struggling to make their home mortgage payments due to job loss or unemployment through no fault of their own or other temporary financial hardship such as a divorce, serious illness, death of a co-signor or natural disaster. Services are provided by HUD-approved counseling agencies statewide.

You may qualify for the Mortgage Payment Program if you:

• are earning less income on your paycheck than you have in the past or are experiencing a furlough
• are seeking new employment to recover from a temporary financial hardship (for example, you have lost income due to divorce, separation, serious illness, sickness or health problems, or death of a co-signer)
• are temporarily unemployed due to a natural disaster
• are unable to pay your mortgage due to a qualified hardship but are eligible for fixed income payments (i.e., retirement, Social Security, disability, or VA benefits) that will enable you to resume your mortgage payments
• have a good mortgage payment history prior to your recent income loss or financial hardship
• currently owe no more than $300, 000 on all your mortgages. Check with your lender to find out your balance.

To participate, you may be behind (or at risk of getting behind) on your payment, or in foreclosure. To those who qualify, the program offers zero-interest loans up to $36, 000 to cover your mortgage and related expenses for up to 36 months while you search for or train for a new job.

• one-time assistance to bring your mortgage current
• short-term assistance while you are looking for a job
• long-term assistance while you participate in an approved job retraining program

When your application is received and your eligibility is confirmed, the NC Housing Finance Agency may place a temporary stay-of-foreclosure for up to 120 days so that the company that owns your mortgage cannot foreclose on your home or take other legal action while your Mortgage Payment Program loan application is under review. If you qualify for the loan, the NC Housing Finance Agency will make your mortgage payment directly to your loan provider or bank. At the end of the assistance period, you will resume making your mortgage payment.

If you remain in your home for 10 years, the loan will be forgiven, and you do not have to pay it back. After you have lived in your home for five years, the loan is reduced by 20 percent a year for years six through 10 until you owe nothing. You repay the total amount only if you sell or refinance the home in the first five years, and only if the sale proceeds are sufficient to repay it. Please note that if you refinance your property for better loan terms, we will subordinate our second mortgage; however, if you refinance to consolidate debt or take out cash, the second mortgage loan must be repaid.