HUD APPROVES MARYLAND'S $40 MILLION EMERGENCY HOME LOAN PROGRAM
Maryland is ready to take applications immediately

WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan today approved the State of Maryland's bid to administer HUD's Emergency Homeowner Loan Program (EHLP), a bridge loan program designed to help unemployed families pay their mortgages. HUD determined Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development's mortgage bridge loan program is "substantially similar" to HUD's program, thereby allowing the State to begin implementing the program itself.

Late last year, HUD awarded $1 billion to 32 states and Puerto Rico, including $40 million to the State of Maryland, to provide emergency assistance to homeowners at risk of foreclosure due to a substantial reduction in income brought on by layoff, underemployment, or a medical condition. With today's approval, Maryland will begin to take applications immediately. Interested homeowners should call the Maryland HOPE Hotline at 877-462-7555 to find a housing counselor near them for free counseling and assistance.

"The Emergency Homeowner Loan Program will provide limited and targeted assistance to help working families get back on their feet and keep their home while they look for work," said Secretary Donovan. "We are pleased to get
the program off the ground in Maryland, which is already working to help keep families in their homes during difficult economic times."

"Even as we move beyond the fallout of the subprime mortgage and predatory lending crisis, I know that there are
still too many families in our state struggling to get by," said Governor Martin O'Malley. "This program strengthens an important safety net for unemployed homeowners and protects the investment they made in the American dream."

"These loans will help families who lost jobs through no fault of their own and are just trying to keep their heads above water," U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski said. "These are tough times. People deserve a government that's on their side. I voted for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to end unfair and abusive practices on
Wall Street and help people who work hard and play by the rules. Helping families stay in their homes is an important part of that."

"The Emergency Homeowners Loan Program is a new, important tool to help struggling Marylanders keep their homes," said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. "Targeting those who are unemployed or underemployed, or who have suffered medical hardship, this program will provide a bridge loan for up to 24 months to assist homeowners in paying their mortgage.
It will provide relief for Marylanders as they look for jobs or recover from an injury or illness."

"Even as our economy shows signs of recovery, too many families are struggling to find employment and hold onto their homes," said Congressman John Sarbanes. "This program will allow Maryland families to avoid foreclosure until they can get back on their feet."

"This program is welcome news for the countless people in Maryland are going through the difficult times. These are the same people that have showed up time after time sitting in the front row of my Foreclosure Prevention Workshops, with tears running down their faces," Congressman Elijah E. Cummings said. "I helped create the bridge loan program to help every day, hard-working Americans; the same folks who we all see every day in our neighborhoods. Now, many of them will be able to get the help they have so desperately asked for, straight from the government."

"I am pleased that the State of Maryland is working to ensure that families and individuals who are facing foreclosure due to circumstances out of their control are getting the help they need to stay in their homes," said Congressman Steny H. Hoyer. "Preventing home foreclosures is necessary to improving our long-term economic stability, and it is clear that we need to do more to address the foreclosure crisis in our country. As long as foreclosures continue to impact our community, I will continue working at the local and Federal level to ensure that responsible homeowners have every available resource to help them stay in their homes."

EHLP was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The law authorized HUD's Secretary to allow funds to be administered by states that have an existing program that provides substantially
similar assistance to homeowners. HUD found Maryland is administering an equivalent program and the grant funds may be used for reasonable administrative costs and to provide EHLP loans to homeowners in the state.

HUD's Emergency Home Loan Program will work through a variety of state and non-profit entities and will offer a declining balance, deferred payment "bridge loan" (zero percent interest, non-recourse, subordinate loan) for up to $50,000 to assist eligible borrowers with payments on their mortgage principal, interest, mortgage insurance, taxes and hazard insurance for up to 24 months.

Under the program, eligible borrowers must:

1. Be at least three months delinquent in their payments and have a reasonable likelihood of being able to
   resume repayment of their mortgage payments and related housing expenses within two years;
   
   
2. Have a mortgage property that is the principal residence of the borrower; and
   
   
3. Demonstrate a good payment record prior to the event that produced the reduction of income.

HUD determined that 27 states will use the delegated approach to program administration. Under this approach,
HUD will delegate key program administration functions to an experienced and highly regarded national network of affiliated housing counseling agencies. Under the program, nonprofit housing counselors who are part of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program administered by NeighborWorks® America will coordinate intake counseling, document preparation and outreach functions. HUD will also use it delegation authority to contract with an experienced entity to provide loan servicing and fiscal control functions such as collecting payments from homeowners, distributing payments to servicers, and managing loan balances.

HUD will announce additional details and program specifics for the delegated approach states when NeighborWorks® America launches the program in the coming weeks.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.