Arizona Mortgage Foreclosure and Housing Arizona Initiative

Mortgage Foreclosure Helpline

1-877-448-1211

The Arizona Department of Housing has partnered with several agencies throughout the state to help individuals and families facing foreclosure. Community Information & Referral hosts Arizona’s Mortgage Foreclosure Helpline to help people through the foreclosure process and possibly keep their homes.  The Arizona foreclosure help line, made available through a $1.3 million federal grant, will be a vital link between families facing a housing crisis and access to free foreclosure counseling appointments. The Arizona Department of Housing is contracting with Community Information and Referral Services to staff the call center which will connect homeowners to a local, certified foreclosure counselor.

Foreclosure Prevention Task Force

More about The “Housing Arizona Initiative” announced by the office of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano on September 10, 2008.

Within the context of the current economic downturn, two groups are particularly hard hit: those trying to hold onto their homes, and those who have no homes and no pathway off the streets in these hard times. To respond to these critical needs, the Governor is announcing the Housing Arizona Initiative which will provide a total of $ 13.6 million in State Housing Trust Fund resources to undergird efforts to assist these two heavily impacted groups of Arizonans.

The Housing Arizona Initiative

The Initiative will address the needs of Arizonans facing foreclosure by targeting:

$3.5 million in eviction and foreclosure prevention funding to help prevent homelessness and provide short-term relief for homeowners seeking solutions to foreclosure problems. This effort is administered locally by nonprofits and local governments across the state.

$500,000 to ensure local communities can adequately draw down, administer and implement new federal neighborhood stabilization funding coming to the state to address neighborhoods severely impacted by mortgage foreclosures.

$300,000 to support the continuation of the mortgage foreclosure mitigation counseling being supported by the Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) and the federal government. Through this program, including the state-funded foreclosure toll-free hotline (1-877-488-1211), homeowners are matched with foreclosure counselors who guide them through the complexities of negotiating positive outcomes with lenders and servicers. These services are provided at no charge to the homeowner.

$2 million for first-time homebuyers’ down payment assistance to help families take advantage of the affordable housing stock that does exist.
The Initiative will also address the needs of Arizonans experiencing homelessness by targeting:

$2 million for a partnership between ADOH and the Arizona Department of Health Services, to fund a new approach for developing housing for people experiencing serious mental illness that would ultimately expand the number of available affordable units for this population

$1 million for a partnership with the Arizona Department of Corrections to target those ex-offenders who would otherwise be homelessness upon the completion of their sentence. Resources will be targeted to provide a short term bridge for ex-offenders to find safe, decent, affordable housing in the community reducing the likelihood of recidivism significantly.

$1 million for a partnership between ADOH and the Arizona Department of Economic Security to address the housing needs of homeless youth. Homeless youth often seek to improve their situations by participating in day programs, employment, and counseling only to have to sleep on the streets for lack of affordable housing options that will take young renters.

$750,000 for a partnership between ADOH and the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services to help the growing number of veterans who, because of a variety of health and mental health issues, find themselves homeless. A goal of this partnership is to engage the federal Veterans Administration as an additional partner to expand the reach of this effort.

$2 million dollars will be made available by ADOH through a competitive process for the development of permanent, housing for homeless people, some of which will include social services. Recent research has underscored the importance of the supportive housing model, especially for those men and women who need additional support to sustain their housing, improve their health, and obtain and maintain employment.

$200,000 will be used as match in an effort draw down additional federal funding for rural homeless families, and $275,000 will continue existing ADOH homelessness assistance efforts across the state.

Arizona Real Estate News

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