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DEVELOPERS For Immediate Release: Contact:
DISASTER RELIEF 10/21/2010 Cecka Rose Green (850) 488-4197
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FOR INVESTORS
Florida Housing Launches Hardest-Hit Fund Program in Lee County
HOMEBUYERS & RENTERS
HOUSING PARTNERS
HOUSING RESOURCES TALLAHASSEE—On Wednesday, October 20, during a press conference call,
NEWSROOM & LIBRARY Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) announced that
unemployed or underemployed homeowners in Lee County, who are having
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difficulty paying their mortgages, will be able to apply for financial assistance
Media Files from the Florida Hardest-Hit Fund (HHF) beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday,
Online Press Kit October 25. The program is only available in Lee County as a pilot for the
subsequent 90-day time period.
Press Releases
2010 Archive “Operating the pilot in Lee County gives us a representative sampling of
2009 Archive homeowners for which the Hardest-Hit funding was designed to help,” said
David Westcott, director of Homeownership Programs at Florida Housing.
2008 Archive
“We will use the information gathered from the pilot to ensure we are
2007 Archive prepared for statewide implementation. We know there are homeowners
2006 Archive who will benefit from this financial assistance, and we are eager to move
forward.”
2005 Archive
2004 Archive Florida Housing has two HHF programs, as follows:
2003 Archive
2002 Archive • Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program (UMAP) will
provide up to 18 months of first mortgage payments directly to the
Publications
lender on behalf unemployed/underemployed homeowners until they
PRESERVATION can resume making payments on their own.
PROPERTY OWNERS & MANAGERS
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS • Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment (MLRP) Program will
be used to bring a delinquent mortgage current for homeowners who
SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING have returned to work or recovered from underemployment.
UNIVERSAL CYCLE
GREEN BUILDING UMAP and MLRP program funds will be in the form of a 0% percent,
deferred-payment loan; the loan can be forgiven over a five-year period, at
a rate of 20% each year.

“As we move through the application and eligibility determination process

during this pilot period, we will communicate with the large banks and loan
servicers to keep them informed on the number of borrowers they have who
may qualify for this assistance,” said Steve Auger, executive director at
Florida Housing. “Our hope is that this information will be helpful to [the
banks] as they determine how best to work with us as we prepare to take
the program statewide early next year.”

As it stands now, if a homeowner is otherwise qualified to receive assistance

from either or both of the HHF programs, but the bank or lender cannot
accept payments, that homeowner will not be able to participate in either
program.

To apply for financial assistance from the fund, homeowners will need to log
onto the website www.FLHardestHitHelp.org. The site contains all the

http://apps.floridahousing.org/StandAlone/FHFC_ECM/PressReleaseContentPage.aspx?P... 3/16/2011
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information users will need to begin the application process, including a

program fact sheet, answers to frequently asked questions and links to
resources that may be helpful to those experiencing economic challenges.
Specifically, there are links to employment resources available through the
Agency for Workforce Innovation (AWI), Florida’s lead state workforce
agency.

“This critical assistance provided through Florida Housing will help people
challenged by unemployment to stay in their homes,” said Cynthia R.
Lorenzo, director for the Agency. “The pilot program will provide an
additional resource for families during these difficult economic times, and
our workforce partner Southwest Florida Works is a valuable resource for
Lee County homeowners who are ramping up their employment search.
Florida’s workforce system provides a wide array of job placement and job
training programs at nearly 100 One-Stop Career Centers throughout the
state.”

First announced on February 19 by the US Department of the Treasury

(Treasury), the “Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the
Hardest-Hit Housing Markets” (HFA Hardest-Hit Fund) provides federal
funding to states hardest hit by the aftermath of the burst of the housing
bubble. To date, $7.6 billion has been infused into the HFA Hardest-Hit Fund
for 18 states and the District of Columbia; Florida’s total allocation currently
stands at $1 billion.

Treasury has approved both of Florida Housing’s programs to provide

temporary assistance to eligible unemployed or underemployed
homeowners. The goal is to help them sustain and keep their homes,
ultimately, to avoid foreclosure.

http://apps.floridahousing.org/StandAlone/FHFC_ECM/PressReleaseContentPage.aspx?P... 3/16/2011