Some relief may be coming to Oregon residents that are having a hard time paying their mortgage because of a reduction of income through unemployment or a reduction in employment. The Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative (OHSI) application window begins on Friday, December 10th.
Oregon has $100,000,000 to spend through the program. The OHSI FAQ page goes into the details of how the funds may or may not have to be paid back in certain situations. Most importantly, just because you qualify doesn’t mean you will receive the benefit. Once the application window closes a month later,“The state will conduct a random drawing to choose who will get help. The program is not first come, first serve.”
Qualifying for the program does not guarantee that you will get assistance and the qualification will be different for each household as evidenced by the two versions I used on the eligibility test. The income qualifications per household size are listed on the FAQs:
Changing the number of people that live in the house from four to five people changes the eligibility. There are 10 total questions on the test.
You would not qualify if you owned a second residential property according to question #7 or if you live in a condo or townhouse according to question #8. Even if you fail the eligibility test you can still apply so even if you think you don’t qualify but would benefit from the program you should do your homework. For those that qualify, we hope you win in the random drawing.
It will be determined by a random drawing? I’m not sure if it’s the wisest route for picking the recipients. I mean, what if they picked the moderately needy of the lot, and leave out the ones who really needs the help?
They’ve set a standard as to whether or not you qualify. Everyone that qualifies is in the same pool and at that point there is a defined number of recipients. It would be nearly impossible to select from there. Do you give money to those with the greatest immediate need? Those who would have the greatest long term benefit? How would you measure that?
Is random drawing really effective in determining the recipients of that projects? I hope they pick those who really in need.
The Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative is the name of Oregon’s new foreclosure prevention programs. The US Department of Treasury gave 17 states—including Oregon—money from a special fund for states hit hardest by the recession. Oregon was on the list because of its high unemployment rate. Oregon Housing and Community Services created OHSI to deliver programs throughout the state to help prevent foreclosures.
This is idiotic. If you are unemployed and can not afford to live in Oregon, then it is time you to move to a state where you can find employment instead of sucking more of my tax dollars out of my wallet.
This is a horribly misunderstood program. It is not a foreclosure prevention program. It is a mortgage assistance program set up to get people through the tough times of unemployment, illness and other unforseen changes in their income situation. It is to assist those that have been jerked around by the banks with promises of loan modifications, promises of short sale acceptances and then foreclosed on. I have been volunteering to help with the application process and I have seen all types of people apply. From some of the top producing Realtors and Mortgage brokers to the immigrant workers who don’t speak enough English to get them through the process. Many have gone on line to apply and only a small % even complete the application process. I’ve called some 3 times to set up appointments but they drag their feet getting their paper work together. It is a 30 day window and it is open to everyone. But so few have followed through that the lottery will be a pretty simple way of selecting. 250 people in Clackamas county and only 600 have even set up an account and I’d venture to say less than 1/2 of those will follow through to the end. Makes the playing ground pretty level for those that help themselves.
Rerobin is on the mark here! This initiative is an incredible opportunity for the thousands of Oregon homeowners that have had serious and documented hardships – significantly decreased wages, illness, unemployment, Option-Arms, etc. As someone who has been steadfast in doing whatever it takes to keep our family of six in our home, I can only say it’s a shame that more homeowners did not apply for this aid. I have painstakingly worked with my lender, Wachovia, to save our home from foreclosure. I was persistent and as scared as I was I did not avoid the numerous phone calls and FedExed correspondence from them. I took out a 50K HELOC to make our mortgage payments after my husband and I were laid off. The unemployment insurance certainly did not cover our monthly nut. After exhausting all of our savings and the 50K HELOC, we succumbed to a 9 month period of default on our loan.
So, after a modification and deferred payment plan, I applied for the stabilization initiative. I think I went to the intake office at least 4 times – each time bringing more documents. It was worth it. After the many qualifying rungs of the program, I just received an email that my application was selected from the lottery (remember, there were so few applicants that the odds of being selected were excellent).
It makes sense to stay informed, hopeful, humble and diligent. I honestly cannot even imagine how having my mortgage paid for one YEAR may feel… really. What a blessing – and an incredible opportunity to rebuild ourselves financially. Unbelievable.
Thank you all for your comments. Hopefulinclackco, how did you first find out about the program?