Portland, Oregón. — Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced that Oregon would receive over $36 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury to assist homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure. Today’s announcement from the Treasury Department includes an opportunity for the state of Oregon to apply for an additional $110 million to address housing needs in the state. Senator Merkley has been instrumental in advocating for additional funding to address the foreclosure crisis that has rocked Oregon since the Great Recession and called on the Treasury Department to release this funding.
“Homeownership is the greatest wealth-building tool the middle class has ever known, but too many Oregonians are still struggling with underwater mortgages and high interest rates and are on the brink of foreclosure,” said Merkley. “This funding will help many Oregonians stay in their homes and get back on track to the American Dream.”
The announcement today from the Treasury Department comes from their authority to obligate up to $2 billion in additional Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) program. The additional investment in HHF will enable participating states to continue assisting struggling homeowners and stabilizing neighborhoods in many of the nation’s hardest hit communities. The fifth round of HHF funding will be allocated among participating states in two phases of $1 billion each.
The first phase will allocate $1 billion using a formula based on state population and the state’s utilization of their HHF allocation to date. The second phase will utilize an application process open to all participating states. This phase will allow Treasury to focus additional resources on states that have significant ongoing foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization needs, a proven track record in utilizing funds, and successful program models to address those needs.
El Senador Merkley trabajó en estrecha colaboración con los Servicios Comunitarios y de Vivienda de Oregón para administrar el HHF inicial y ayudó a diseñar el Programa Piloto de Asistencia para el Refinanciamiento de Préstamos (LRAPP) que ha utilizado el HHF en Oregón desde 2012. Este programa ha ayudado a cientos de habitantes de Oregón a evitar la ejecución hipotecaria a través de una estrategia innovadora. en el que su casa se compra a través de una venta corta y se les revende a su valor actual. Estos fondos adicionales anunciados hoy se utilizarán para garantizar que el programa LRAPP continúe, así como para nuevos programas destinados a ayudar a los habitantes de Oregón que luchan por permanecer en sus hogares.
El HHF se creó en 2010 para proporcionar $7.6 mil millones en ayuda específica a 18 estados y el Distrito de Columbia considerados los más afectados por la recesión económica y del mercado de la vivienda. El programa fue diseñado para aprovechar la experiencia de los socios estatales y locales al financiar soluciones de estabilización de vecindarios y prevención de ejecuciones hipotecarias adaptadas localmente.
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