All of the nearly 11,000 Alaska households that applied for financial aid under a state-administered, federally funded program — including 40 in Wrangell — will receive some level of assistance toward mortgage payments and utilities bills.
The Alaska Housing Finance Corp., which is running the $50 million pandemic-aid program, announced last week it had completed its initial reviews of the applications, determining their income eligibility for assistance, and now will evaluate individual homeowner’s financial needs.
Depending on each applicant’s needs, the housing agency will distribute payments in one of three ways: two months of upcoming utility payments; up to two months of mortgage payments and utility bills; or helping to bring past-due mortgage payments current.
The agency said its plan will ensure that all eligible applicants receive some assistance from the limited funding.
“Of the 10,979 applications submitted from March 14 through April 4 and through subsequent appeals, 2,384 applicants indicated they were past due on their mortgage; 1,516 said they were at risk of foreclosure; 1,488 indicated they were in forbearance on their mortgage for an average of nine months,” the housing agency reported in its announcement.
Data from the applications show average monthly mortgage payments at $1,498 and average total monthly utility payments at $567.
The Alaska program is part of a $9.9 billion congressional appropriation last year to help homeowners across the country hit by loss of income due to the pandemic.
The mortgage aid program is in addition to more than $261 million in federal pandemic relief funds distributed to renters by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. As of last week, the agency had sent out more than $536,000 to help 80 Wrangell rental households with their rent payments and utility bills.
Wrangell participants in the renter and homeowner assistance programs represent almost 12% of the households in the community, according to federal census data.
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