New Mexico has $47 million left to help homeowners fearing foreclosure

A state agency announced this week that it would be merging two pandemic-era programs aimed to keep people housed despite economic upheaval, and officials said that millions are still available for those who need it. 

The Homeowner Assistance Fund comes out of  a $10 billion allocation in the federal American Rescue Plan Act. It’s there for homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Recipients can get up to $20,000 in aid that they don’t have to pay back. 

Homeowners can qualify as long as they occupy their home as a primary residence, experienced financial hardship associated with the pandemic, received mortgages of less than $417,000 and have incomes of less than 150% of the area median income. In Albuquerque, for example, that’s $101,250 for a household with four people. 

State spends $100 million on rent assistance, with $200 million more to go

The fund started at $55 million, and so far, the state has paid about $8 million to 1,317 homeowners, according to a news release from the state. That leaves $47 million as of Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The state now has a single website for applicants who both rent and own their homes. That can be found at NMHomefund.org. 

Merging the programs is an effort to simplify access, according to a news release from the state’s Department of Finance and Administration. 

Renters also can access federal rental assistance money. The state received about $300 million in from two pieces of federal legislation aimed at helping renters stay sheltered during the pandemic, and so far the state has paid about $167 million of it to about 71,000 renters. 

Assistance is available from both programs until September 2025 or until the funds are spent, according to the state.