HEMAP: Pennsylvania's Emergency Mortgage Loan, and Who Actually Qualifies

Pennsylvania is one of the few states with its own emergency mortgage program. The Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program — HEMAP — is administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, and when it fits, it fits better than anything a servicer will offer. It is a loan, not a grant, and it is narrower than most people hope.

What HEMAP is

HEMAP can pay the arrears to bring your mortgage current, and in some cases contribute toward ongoing payments for a period while you recover. You repay PHFA on terms based on your ability to pay, and PHFA takes a lien on the property.

The eligibility picture

The core requirements are consistent, even as program details are updated:

• The property is your primary residence in Pennsylvania.
• You are suffering financial hardship due to circumstances beyond your control — job loss, reduced hours, illness, divorce, a death in the household.
• The hardship is temporary: there is a reasonable prospect you can resume full payments within a defined period.
• You are at least 60 days delinquent and received an Act 91 notice, and you applied within the deadline that notice set.

That third point is where most applications turn. HEMAP is built for the homeowner whose income dropped and is coming back. It is not built for a payment that was never affordable, or for a hardship with no end in sight.

Where the application usually goes wrong

Two things: missing the Act 91 deadline, and an incomplete package. Work with the HUD-approved counseling agency, submit everything at once, and keep dated copies of every document.

If HEMAP is not the fit

The honest alternative for a permanent income change is usually Chapter 13. Section 1322(b)(5) of the Bankruptcy Code lets you cure arrears over three to five years while you resume the regular payment — no lump sum, and the lender cannot refuse the cure. A Chapter 13 also stops a scheduled sheriff sale the moment it is filed, which HEMAP cannot do once a sale is on the calendar.

You are also allowed to pursue both paths in sequence: apply, and if HEMAP declines, the bankruptcy option is still there. What you cannot do is wait for a decision until the week of the sale.

Questions about which route your situation supports? Call (717) 724-7503 for a free consultation.