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Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program

The federal government is providing Kentucky tens of millions of dollars in aid as part of the federal government hardest hit fund. The state will be using the money to create the Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program.

The primary goal of this program will be to provide mortgage relief to people who have lost their jobs, or who have had a reduction in income. It should hopefully prevent homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosure.

Financial assistance will be provided to homeowners who have experienced a loss of income due to underemployment or unemployment, and the money will be used to pay the families mortgage payments during the period of unemployment and/or underemployment. Even after the applicant to the program gets a new job, funding may still be provided for up to two months after reemployment, if further assistance is still needed. There is a maximum amount of cash that will be provided as part of the Unemployment Bridge Program.

How does the Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program work?

If a homeowner meets the qualifications below, the Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program will help those homeowners who are behind on or delinquent with their mortgage payments and the program can help those people who anticipate a default on their home loan due to either underemployment or unemployment. The program can even help people who just have had a loss of income, from either reduced working hours or a medical emergency.

The maximum amount of assistance provided per household will be set at $10,000. In addition to the maximum dollar amount, there is also a time constraint. The time limit set for the program is 12 months for households to utilize the mortgage assistance. So to summarize, the mortgage assistance provided will end at either the earlier of 12 months, or when up to $10,000 in aid has been provided. The assistance is provided in the form of a zero percent interest loan. Dial Kentucky Housing at (800) 633-8896 to learn more about the program, or contact the Homeownership Protection Center.

Program Qualifications

There will be several qualifications and criteria that need to be met. A sampling of them are below.

The applicant for the Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program must have experienced the loss of their job or reduction in income after January 1, 2009.
The monthly mortgage payment of principal, interest expense on the loan, property taxes and insurance (PITI), including both first and any applicable second lien mortgages, must exceed 31 percent of the borrower’s gross monthly household income.
The applicants cash reserves can’t exceed six months.
The Kentucky homeowner must be experiencing some type of crisis or financial hardship due to an involuntary loss of their income or an involuntarily reduction in their employment income. This must be documented and verifiable.
In addition, people who have a medical emergency, such as a documented case of short-term disability, may also be able to qualify for help.
The program is not meant to be a charity program, and therefore payments due on the homeowner’s mortgage(s) must have been current for 12 months. So the homeowner must have been making payments prior to the job loss or reduction of income.
If accepted into the program, the homeowner needs to agree to participate in ongoing homeownership mortgage and foreclosure counseling through a KHC-approved counselor during the term of assistance. Learn more about mortgage counseling.
Another condition is that the homeowner must be actively seeking employment and trying to achieve long term success. The participant of the program must either be participating in a job training and/or educational program with the goal of obtaining employment during the term of the mortgage assistance provided from the Kentucky Unemployment Bridge Program.

By Jon McNamara

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