Where the Homeowner Assistance Fund stands two years in

The $9.96 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund established by the American Rescue Plan Act roughly two years ago has assisted more than 230,000 households, according to the U.S. Treasury.

That number of households assisted could grow given that at deadline the National Council of State Housing Agencies was listing programs in the majority of the states as open to applications for funds for people with hardships.

At the time of this writing, Alabama, Alaska, Florida and Louisiana had closed their programs. Programs were on hold or only accepting applications on waitlist basis in Kansas, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico. The rest of the state programs were still accepting applications. Program status for each state could continue to fluctuate until funds are exhausted.

The money, which individual states earmarked for a variety of housing expenses that might bedevil people with financial hardships, often has been designated to address mortgages at risk of foreclosure and distributed in coordination with servicers.

The continuing availability of HAF funds in many states is important for mortgage companies to note given that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to watch servicers closely to ensure they give borrowers a chance to use the money and avoid the loss of their homes whenever possible.

"With funding still available, the question now becomes, how can we continue to educate borrowers of the availability of resources, and assist with ensuring that the application process is streamlined and improved to lower denials," said Marissa Yaker, deputy general counsel, regulatory affairs, for Padgett Law Group, a law firm that's been active in hosting online industry meetings on the topic.

Nearly half or 45% of denials have unspecified or "other" causes, and 29% of applications were not completed within programs' timeframes, according to Treasury data cited by Yaker.

"With each state having different parameters and requirements, continuing industry dialogue, broadening borrower education on the resources available, and continuing to push for policy and program improvements remains key," Yaker said.

Mortgage companies have been seeking more consistency in processes across jurisdictions in response.

"There needs to be a standard format and rules to make the Homeowner Assistance Fund easy for consumers to understand," said Wes Iseley, a senior managing director at Carrington Holding Company LLC. "There are lessons to be learned by the states that executed the program well, and that were quick to help out customers in their states. It is challenging to have 50 different programs and rules. We need to make it easy to access and effective."