Property Trax: Dane County Exec Joe Parisi urges residents to apply for federal grants of up to $50,000 to save homes
Karen Rivedal/Property Trax (Blog - Madison.com - Wisconsin State Journal)
7 July 2011
Noting home foreclosure is still an "unfortunate reality" for many families, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi on Thursday urged residents to try a new federal program offering no-interest, forgiveable loans of up to $50,000 to keep people in their homes.
The offering, known as the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program, is aimed at helping income-eligible residents of Wisconsin and 26 other states at risk of losing their homes because of involuntary unemployment, underemployment or a medical condition.
Plus, the county and support groups including the Dane County Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce also offer an array of counseling and other programs, Parisi added - an important point, considering the $51 million set aside for Wisconsin under EHLP isn't expected to be near enough to help everyone who will likely be eligible for it.
"Help still exists for families who are in trouble," Parisi said in a statement, "whether to prevent foreclosure, or to help homeowners better navigate the legal system."
However, the window of opportunity for struggling homeowners is short for EHLP, officials noted.
The deadline is July 22 to complete a pre-applicant screening worksheet to determine eligibility. To fill it out over the phone, residents can call GreenPath Debt Solutions at 888-893-2711 or Money Management International at 877-329-2502. Both are agencies approved by the federal government to process the forms.
"This new federal program can benefit Dane County residents, but the timelines are short and homeowners need to apply soon," Dane County Treasurer David Worzala said. "Given the calls our office receives from homeowners in financial distress due to job loss or health care costs, we know the demand is out there for this assistance."
Other types of help in Dane County include free legal clinics on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month, at 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You can find out more about EHLP here or by calling 855-346-3345.