Oregon Homeowner Assistance Fund closes, helps thousands stay in their homes

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on Oregon households went beyond health; its economic impacts left thousands struggling to make ends meet, including the ability for homeowners to keep making their mortgage payments. Enter the Oregon Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), a federally funded program that offered temporary emergency mortgage relief to support homeowners who experienced severe financial hardships due to the pandemic.

The HAF program earlier this year issued the last payment out of $72 million of total assistance to Oregon households since the end of 2021. Administered by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), HAF helped 2,619 households to stay in their homes by providing up to $50,000 to help homeowners of low and moderate incomes to bring past-due mortgages and housing expenses current. These homeowners also could have received an extra $10,000 for up to six months of assistance with monthly mortgage payments and housing costs.

“The pandemic took a heavy financial toll on many Oregonians,” said Keeble Giscombe, director of Homeownership at OHCS. “One of OHCS’ main goals is to keep Oregonians safely and stably housed. The Homeowner Assistance Fund and the dedicated OHCS staff who worked to distribute the funding made it possible for thousands of homeowners, who could’ve entered into foreclosure and possibly homelessness, to keep their homes.”

Eligible homeowners received on average $27,429. Geographically, about 1,277 of those homeowners helped live in rural areas. More than half served earn 50% of the area median income or less.

OHCS designed eligibility criteria to serve the most at-risk homeowners and homeowners who are traditionally underserved or who are less able to recover, such as Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asian, and Pacific Islander households, as well as members of federally recognized Tribes.

Even though the HAF program is closed, homeowners who are concerned about foreclosure can get free help from certified housing counselors around the state to learn about budgeting tools and evaluation of options to keep their homes, such as modifications or adding deferred payments to the end of a mortgage. Search the full list of free certified housing counselors by county at the OHCS website. Visit the HAF Dashboard for more detailed information about HAF.

Also, June is National Homeownership Month. Explore the many ways OHCS is supporting homeownership, from funding the development of new homes to providing resources to help Oregonians become homeowners and stay in them. Visit https://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/homeownership to learn more.