LIHU‘E — Island homeowners in financial hardship can apply to an expanded assistance program.
The Homeowner Assistance Fund launched pilot programs on Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island in November 2021, to bring qualifying homeowners’ mortgages up to date or reduce their monthly payments.
Now, HAF is growing into a multi-year project that can also pay past-due property taxes and past-due HOA fees.
“Our goal is really to try and assist anybody and everybody that we can, who needs this kind of help,” Jeff Gilbreath, executive director of the nonprofit Hawai‘i Community Lending, told The Garden Island.
HCL administers the Homeowner Assistance Fund in partnership with federally-approved nonprofit Hawaiian Community Assets and Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i counties.
The fund is financed by the federal American Rescue Plan.
“There’s nothing worse than doing nothing in these instances,” Gilbreath said. “Just pick up the phone to give Hawaiian Community Assets a call … you never know what we can do, and our team is going to look at the situation and provide whatever resources are possible and appropriate.”
Homeowners who contact one of HCA’s Financial Opportunity Centers will receive foreclosure counseling.
Counseling is followed by an assessment to determine if the homeowner qualifies for an up to $30,000 grant. (Homeowners’ problems can sometimes be resolved through budget adjustments made during the counseling process.)
If a mortgage-payment grant is warranted, the homeowner can negotiate with their mortgage servicer, provided the servicer is a HAF participant.
Twenty-eight servicers now deal with the Homeowner Assistance Fund, and about 20 more are joining, according to Gilbreath.
“We’ve got two options: One is, we pay all the mortgage arrears past due and the family continues to pay on their mortgage, if they have the financial wherewithal to do that,” the executive director explained. “But we found far more homeowners actually need to reduce their monthly payment. So, we’ll submit $30,000 to reduce the principal of the mortgage, and then they will modify the loan so we can get a lower monthly payment for the family.”
About $3 million in funding has been allocated to the Homeowner Assistance Fund on Kaua‘i. Of that total, $2.4 million is dedicated to one-time grants for homeowners.
The program will run through September 2025, or until the money is fully expended, whichever happens first.
Ninety-two Kaua‘i residents have applied to HAF to date. Of the 74 who have completed the review proccess, 36 have been deemed conditionally eligible for grant assistance. (The majority of those denied grant assistance were not homeowners.)
Priority is given to low and moderate-income homeowners (earning below 100% area median income) and/or “socially disadvantaged” borrowers, including Native Hawaiians, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Pacific Islanders, African-Americans, Hispanic populations and homeowners with English as a second language.
Applicants must earn less than 150% area median income to receive grant funds. That’s a maximum annual household income of $107,000 for a single person and $152,850 for a family of four on Kaua‘i.
Visit http://hawaiicommunitylending.com/grants-loans/ for a list of participating mortage servicers, application information and more Homeowner Assistance Fund details.
For more information about Hawaiian Community Assets’ Financial Opportunity Centers and free financial workshops, call HCA toll-free at 808-400-1116 or visit https://www.hawaiiancommunity.net/.
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
