Struggling to pay your mortgage? Have you struggled to keep up with mortgage payments, homeowner insurance, property taxes or homeowner association dues while unemployed? The Keep My Tennessee Home fund through Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise may be able to help you keep up with monthly mortgage-related expenses.
What is Keep My Tennessee Home? Keep My Tennessee Home, a new program funded through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and U.S. Treasury, provides forgivable loans to the unemployed or long-term under-employed that are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure or are struggling to make those payments. Operated through Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise in Southeast Tennessee, the program can provide up to $20,000 for 18 months for mortgage payments or mortgage-related expenses to Tennessee residents. Funds are eligible to pay for past-due, current or future monthly mortgage payments or related expenses such as homeowner insurance, homeowner association dues or property taxes.
Where can I get more information? In Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise manages the Keep my Tennessee Home program. CNE also provides FREE mortgage counseling through the Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at 423-664-HOME or visiting CNE’s website at www.cneinc.org. If you are struggling to pay your mortgage or want to establish a plan for keeping up-to-date on your mortgage call 423-664-HOME and speak with a certified mortgage counselor.
What if I don’t qualify? If you don’t qualify for Keep My Tennessee Home, you may be eligible for other assistance at Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise. If you are encountering difficulty in paying monthly mortgage-related expenses due to unemployment or under-employment, please call the Foreclosure Prevention Hotline at 423-664HOME.
How do I know if I’m eligible? To qualify for the Keep My Tennessee Home program, a homeowner must meet the following eligibility requirements: • Be unemployed or underemployed (a 30% reduction of income) through no fault of their own. The event or incident which results in unemployment or substantial underemployment must have occurred after Jan. 1, 2008. • Have a mortgage for a single-family home or condominium (attached or detached) in Tennessee that they occupy as their primary residence. This includes manufactured homes on foundations permanently affixed to real estate that they own. • Have a history of timely mortgage payments prior to the job loss/reduction of income. • The combined amount of your mortgage principal, interest, taxes and insurance must be greater than 31% of your household income after the job loss/reduction of income. • Have a household income less than $74,980. • Have a total unpaid principal balance not exceeding $226,100 • Additional eligibility requirements may be required
How does Keep My Tennessee Home work?
• Payments are made monthly by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency directly to the mortgage provider. Funds for overdue payments are disbursed at closing. • Loans are 0% interest, non-recourse, deferred-payment, forgivable and subordinate. • The forgiveness clause reduces annually the loan amount by 20% of the original, full loan amount for every year the borrower stays in the home up until five years. At this point, the loan is considered repaid and the lien securing the note is released. • If the property is sold, refinanced or no longer owner-occupied and sufficient equity proceeds are available, the loan balance is due and payable. • Should homeowners become reemployed, they may continue receiving assistance for up to an additional two months after reemployment. If homeowners become reemployed but mortgage payments still exceed 31% of their income, assistance can continue up to the appropriate maximum of 12 or 18 months. For more information on this program or to learn more about preventing foreclosure, visit www.cneinc.org or call 423-664-HOME and speak with a certified mortgage counselor.
© 2011 Southeast Tennessee Development District