Important Notices

Keep Your Home California - Helping Californians to Keep Their Homes

Californians have been hit hard by the financial crisis in recent years, as shown by the high unemployment and foreclosure rates across the state. Fortunately, there is a new $2 billion federally funded effort called Keep Your Home California, focused on helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. Keep Your Home California is made up of four unique programs that have been developed to address one or more aspects of the current housing crisis. All of the programs are designed specifically for low or moderate income homeowners who are either unemployed or are facing another financial hardship, have fallen behind on their mortgages and owe significantly more than the value of their homes.

Specifically, the Keep Your Home California programs provide: . Mortgage assistance of up to $3,000 per month for unemployed homeowners who are in imminent danger of defaulting on their home loans. . Funds to help homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments due to a temporary change in a household circumstance. The program will provide up to $15,000 per household to reinstate mortgages to prevent foreclosures. . Money to reduce the principal owed on a mortgage for a home where the homeowner is facing a serious financial hardship and owes significantly more than the home is worth. This program requires lenders to match any assistance provided for principal reduction. . Transition assistance to help borrowers relocate to new housing situation after executing a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure program.

Keep Your Home California was implemented statewide in early February to help fight the ongoing foreclosure crisis in California. The programs are part of the U.S. Treasury Department's Hardest Hit Fund, and are aimed at helping low and moderate income homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages amid the worst real estate crisis in decades. More than 100,000 homeowners are expected to benefit from Keep Your Home California.

The programs are limited to homeowners who meet a number of criteria, including owning and occupying the home as their primary residence, meeting income limits and facing a financial hardship. If you or a loved one has been suffering from a financial hardship and need assistance with your mortgage payment, help is here. Contact the Keep Your Home California call center toll free at 888.954.KEEP (5337) or visit www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org.

Each mortgage assistance program requires the participation of the mortgage servicer (the company to which the homeowner makes their monthly payment). To find out which servicers are currently participating, visit www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org/servicer.htm.