5,500 First-Time California Home Buyers Approved for New Mortgage Protection Program

According to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.), more than 5,500 first-time home buyers were approved for C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Fund (C.A.R.H.A.F.) Mortgage Protection Program (MPP), which provides mortgage payment assistance in the event of a job layoff.

The C.A.R.H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program, which ran from April 2009 through June 2010, was offered by C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Fund at no cost to the consumer, and provided up to $1,500 per month, for up to six months, to eligible first-time home buyers who lose their job due to layoffs.  The funds are intended to help home buyers meet their mortgage payment obligations.  Qualified co-buyers also were able to participate in the program, and could receive monthly benefits of $750 per month for up to six months.

First-time home buyer Clifton Wade recently became unemployed and has been receiving payment assistance through the program since September.  "The Mortgage Protection Program helped me by providing much-needed income to help make my mortgage payments," said Wade.  "It has eased a lot of my worries, even if only for a short time."

Funded primarily by Realtors through donations, C.A.R.'s Housing Affordability Fund dedicated

$1 million toward the program and received an additional $420,000 through an Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grant from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  This was the largest Gribin Grant issued and is evidence of the program's accomplishment.

Following on the success of the C.A.R.H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program, C.A.R. is launching Home Payment Protection Program (HPPP), a similar program that pays a home buyer's mortgage if he or she is laid off.

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