About
Thousands of Indiana homeowners struggle to make their mortgage payments due to job loss through no fault of their own. If you are looking for help, know that you are not alone. The Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN) is your partner in helping you avoid foreclosure.
The Hardest Hit Fund is a statewide program funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assist Indiana homeowners who are struggling with—or who are at risk of—mortgage delinquency and foreclosure.
We provide free and confidential mortgage payment assistance of up to $30,000, mortgage modification assistance or transition assistance to qualifying applicants, as well as foreclosure prevention counseling to any Indiana homeowner in need. By clicking on the “Apply Now” button above or calling 1-877-GET-HOPE, you will connect with a counselor who will help you with your mortgage lender.
IFPN partners are located all over the state to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. There is likely a partner in your neighborhood or a nearby county.
For more information:
Our services:
Mortgage payment assistance
The IFPN helps qualified homeowners who cannot make their payments or fall behind in their payments due to a current or previous period of unemployment through no fault of their own.
Other hardships that may qualify homeowners for assistance include:
- (a) an involuntary and substantial reduction in employment income;
- (b) a substantial reduction in household income due to death of a household member;
- (c) significant expenses related to non-elective medical procedures or emergencies;
- (d) or military service.
This help is made possible through the Hardest Hit Fund. Indiana’s Hardest Hit Fund offers zero-interest loans of up to $30,000 to pay your mortgage while you re-establish yourself financially. The loan may also be used to bring your mortgage payments current.
Recast/Modification Program
This assistance helps reduce a qualified homeowner’s monthly first mortgage payment to an affordable level, allowing long-term sustainability of the mortgage.
Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
The purpose of this program is to prevent avoidable foreclosure and help stabilize neighborhoods by helping homeowners to achieve an orderly exit from their home.
The following TAP assistance will be available:
- $2,500 to the homeowner to assist with moving and relocation expenses; and
- Up to $5,000 to lenders/servicers to extinguish and release subordinate liens as part of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement.
Legal services
The IFPN also provides access to legal services for some qualified homeowners, as well as for those already in foreclosure. If you have received a notice of foreclosure in the mail or from your lender, call 1-877-GET-HOPE or click “apply now” now. To see if you qualify, apply today.
Homeowners who work with housing counselors are 60% more likely to save their home than homeowners who go it alone!
— Source: Urban Institute, 2009
Lender dispute resolution
In Indiana, you have the right to meet face-to-face with your lender to try to resolve a mortgage dispute before the foreclosure may proceed, but homeowners must request this opportunity with the court. The IFPN can assist you through this process. For more information on settlement assistance, call 1-877-GET-HOPE, or visit the Indiana Supreme Court’s website.
Background
Beginning in early 2006, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman, hosted a series of meetings with government agencies and industry leaders to discuss the issues surrounding foreclosures and potential solutions for reducing foreclosures. These meetings resulted in the formation of the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN). IFPN worked with state elected officials to enable legislation for a solution to delinquency and foreclosure.
The IFPN program was launched in November 2007 and included a public awareness campaign, a telephone helpline and a statewide network of trained mortgage foreclosure counselors.
In 2009, the Indiana State Legislature passed Senate Bill 492 giving all homeowners with a foreclosure action filed against them the right to participate in a settlement conference with their lender to negotiate an agreement to avert foreclosure. In 2010, the IFPN, in partnership with the Indiana Supreme Court, created the Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project (MFTCAP) to assist trial courts in scheduling and conducting mortgage foreclosure settlement conferences.
In 2011, the IFPN launched the Indiana Hardest Hit Fund. Indiana’s Hardest Hit Fund is made possible by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which awarded Indiana more than $221 million to provide mortgage payment assistance to homeowners who are unemployed, through no fault or neglect of their own.
In March of 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury approved changes to the Hardest Hit Fund program, which significantly broadened borrower eligibility to include underemployment, death of a contributing household member, healthcare hardships and military service. The changes also include increasing the amount of assistance some borrowers receive, providing transition assistance and extending the length of time borrowers may receive assistance.
Avoid Scams
IFPN and its partners offer foreclosure assistance at no charge. It’s important to know the difference between IFPN’s program and a potential scam.
The Indiana Office of the Attorney General provides information on how to recognize and avoid scams. Please visit http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2434.htm to file a complaint with the Attorney General if you feel that you have been the victim of a scam.
- $2,500 to the homeowner to assist with moving and relocation expenses; and
- Up to $5,000 to lenders/servicers to extinguish and release subordinate liens as part of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement.
- Beware of anyone who asks you to pay a fee in exchange for a counseling service or modification of a delinquent loan.
- Beware of people who pressure you to sign papers immediately, or who try to convince you that they can “save” your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house.