Mortgage help available for unemployed Alabama homeowners

MONTGOMERY — If you've lost your job, starting today you can apply and get up to $15,000 in mortgage payments for up to a year, Gov. Robert Bentley said.


The Alabama Housing Finance Authority is getting $162 million in federal foreclosure prevention funds as part of a $2 billion national plan to help certain unemployed homeowners who are behind on their mortgages.

“These are good programs,” Bentley said of U.S. Treasury mortgage help.

Bentley and Alabama Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Robert Strickland announced the Hardest Hit Alabama program that targets unemployed homeowners.

“Homeowners who have experienced a temporary loss of income can benefit from short-term assistance to help bridge the gap until they have restored their income,” Bentley said.

Strickland said the $162 million will help as many as 10,000 families if all are eligible for the maximum $15,000 mortgage subsidy.

The program for qualified homeowners will pay up to $15,000 in mortgage payments and other mortgage-related expenses. To qualify, a homeowner must be out of work and must be determined eligible for unemployment compensation benefits by the Department of Industrial Relations.

Applicants may not have a household income of more than $75,740 and must have an unpaid mortgage balance of less than $258,690. To qualify, an applicant must live in a home as a primary residence and the home must be located in Alabama.

Strickland said if a husband and wife work and one loses his or her job, the unemployed spouse still would be eligible for mortgage assistance if the couple is within income and other guidelines.