New Focus on Homeowner Assistance Program as COVID Squeezes Incomes

Some big-ticket items are on the table as the New York State legislature winds toward the April 1 budget deadline, like marijuana legalization, bail reform adjustment and bracing for the fiscal impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Then there’s the Homeowner Protection Program, or HOPP, a $20 million program that funds 87 non-profit housing counseling and legal services programs around the state that work to prevent foreclosures. Backers say the program averts foreclosure in 25 percent to 30 percent of cases. Even when it can’t prevent the loss of a home, they say, it informs homeowners about how the process works, shows them how to avoid scams and helps them find new housing.

The program was funded for a few years by the office of the Attorney General out of settlement money, and last year a budget deal prevented its cancellation. But supporters say it looks like it could be left out of this year’s spending plan.

Foreclosures had generally been trending down across the state, but that could change amid the economic devastation of the coronavirus crisis. Gov. Cuomo suspended mortgage payments for 90 days, and everyone from Freddie Mac to HUD has taken steps to protect homeowners in the short term, but the impact of the crisis could be anything but temporary. There have been dire warnings about the impact of a sharp increase in unemployment on mortgage delinquency.

Courtesy of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods and Empire Justice Center, here is a rundown of where HOPP has helped since 2012:

County	Clients served	Modifications achieved
Albany	1,574	208
Allegany	248	26
Bronx	4,381	736
Broome	695	110
Cattaraugus	346	25
Cayuga	115	13
Chautauqua	534	77
Chemung	559	53
Chenango	208	26
Clinton	586	72
Columbia	260	60
Cortland	123	9
Delaware	171	24
Dutchess	1,649	136
Erie	7,716	1,429
Essex	278	43
Franklin	237	31
Fulton	158	17
Genesee	321	97
Greene	290	42
Hamilton	10	2
Herkimer	242	44
Jefferson	383	57
Kings	12,256	2,161
Lewis	57	11
Livingston	193	32
Madison	145	23
Monroe	4,480	490
Montgomery	144	10
Nassau	18,718	1,341
New York	527	30
Niagara	1,036	243
Oneida	887	187
Onondaga	2,911	321
Ontario	421	67
Orange	2,057	376
Orleans	210	54
Oswego	686	58
Otsego	166	36
Putnam	822	190
Queens	11,488	1,546
Rensselaer	759	143
Richmond	2,798	500
Rockland	3,809	821
Saratoga	403	76
Schenectady	650	64
Schoharie	199	16
Schuyler	75	5
Seneca	153	18
St. Lawrence	101	4
Steuben	411	52
Suffolk	14,614	1,768
Sullivan	147	9
Tioga	185	36
Tompkins	151	24
Ulster	1,113	205
Warren	118	23
Washington	142	22
Wayne	541	80
Westchester	3,636	710
Wyoming	200	53
Yates	160	21
Total	108,653	15,163