If you need help making paying your mortgage in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Crestview or the Navarre Florida area, there is a new program available for you. The U.S. Treasury has created the “Hardest-Hit Fund” to help the states struggling the most with foreclosures.Florida is one of those states– ranking number one in mortgage delinquencies.According to the Mortgage Bankers Association more than 24 percent of Florida mortgages are at least one payment behind or in foreclosure. The new mortgage assistance program, run by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation will be expanded to cover the entire state on April 18, 2011.

How can the “Hardest-Hit Fund” help homeowners in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Crestview or Navarre Florida?

If you are unemployed or took a pay cut, you may be able to get six months of mortgage payments to keep your loan current, and avoid foreclosure.You might also be eligible to get past due payments (up to $6,000) covered if you have re-gained employment and can now continue to pay your mortgage.

One of the program’s main criteria is that the property is your primary residence and you don’t own other real estate.Your monthly mortgage debt must be more than 31% of your gross income. You must have a hardship, such as job loss, cut hours or reduced pay.You must not be more than 180 days behind in your mortgage payments. Your outstanding mortgage balance must be less than $400,000.

If you qualify, the Florida Hardest-Hit website says your assistance will be “a 0%-interest, deferred-payment loan that will be subordinate to current mortgages on the home. The loan is forgiven at a rate of 20% starting 18 months after acceptance into the program (over a five-year period). Additionally, a homeowner in the Unemployed Mortgage Assistance Program will be required to pay 25 percent of his/her monthly income toward the monthly mortgage payment, with a minimum payment of $70 per month.”

For a complete list of eligibility requirements, check the Florida Hardest-Hit website.

Considering a short sale to avoid foreclosure?

Contact: Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Call 1-877-487-9639 or 850-650-7883 ext 204

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Read Wendy’s Destin Real Estate Blog

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