Homeowner Assitance Funds (HAF)
The Swinomish Tribe received funding from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), which was established under section 3206 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), to provide assistance to homeowners to mitigate financial hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
The purpose of the Swinomish Homeowner Assistance Fund is to support the Tribe’s provision of assistance to eligible tribal homeowners to prevent mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and homeowner displacement.
ELIGIBLE HOMEOWNERS
Swinomish Tribal Community member homeowners are eligible to receive assistance with qualified expenses if they experienced a financial hardship after January 21, 2020 (including a hardship that began before January 21, 2020, but continued after that date) and have incomes equal to or less than 150% of the area median income or 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater. Assistance can only be provided to homeowners with qualified expenses related to the dwelling that is the homeowner’s primary residence.
Qualifying expenses include:
- mortgage payment assistance;
- financial assistance to allow a homeowner to reinstate a mortgage or to pay other housing-related costs related to a period of forbearance, delinquency, or default;
- mortgage principal reduction, including with respect to a second mortgage provided by a nonprofit or government entity;
- payment assistance for:
a. homeowner’s utilities, including electric, gas, home energy (including firewood and home heating oil), water, and wastewater;
b. homeowner’s internet service, including broadband internet access service, as defined in 47 CFR 8.1(b) (or any successor regulation);
c. homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, and mortgage insurance;
d. homeowner’s association fees or liens, condominium association fees, or common charges, and similar costs payable under a unit occupancy agreement by a resident member/shareholder in a cooperative housing development; and
e. down payment assistance loans provided by nonprofit or government entities; - payment assistance for delinquent property taxes to prevent homeowner tax foreclosures;
- measures to prevent homeowner displacement, such as repairs to maintain home habitability, including the reasonable addition of habitable space to alleviate overcrowding, or assistance to enable households to receive clear title to their properties.
INCOME DETERMINATIONS
Financial assistance for qualified expenses is available to homeowners with incomes equal to or less than 150% of the area median income for their household size or 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater. By federal regulation, at least 60% of the program funds will be prioritized for qualified expenses that assist homeowners having incomes equal to or less than 100% of the area median income or equal to or less than 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater. Any amount not made available to homeowners that meet this income-targeting requirement will be first prioritized for Elder and disabled households that fall into program income requirements. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines each of these income calculations.
| 1 person | 2 persons | 3 persons | 4 persons | 5 persons | 6 persons | 7 persons | 8 persons | |
| Greater of 100% AMI or 100% U.S. Median Income | $90,000 | $90,000 | $90,000 | $90,000 | $93,000 | $99,900 | $106,800 | $113,700 |
| Greater of 100% AMI or 100% U.S. Median Income | $90,450 | $103,350 | $116,250 | $129,150 | $139,500 | $149,850 | $160,150 | $170,500 |
To submit a pre-application and be placed on the list for assistance, you can find the pre-application at swincommunications.typeform.com/HAFApplication. Once staff receive your pre-application, we will contact you within two weeks to set up an intake appointment. During the intake process, we will work with you to gather necessary documentation and determine what additional steps need to be taken to complete the application process.
We anticipate that first payments will be processed in January. Because these funds are targeted first to keep people out of foreclosure and specifically to elderly and disabled households facing foreclosure, we will be accepting applications for home repair but delaying the prioritization of those applications until March 2023 in order to ensure that members facing financial issues that are leading to foreclosure, are assisted first. We anticipate home repair work to take place in spring and summer 2023.
CAP ON ASSISTANCE
Assistance provided under the Swinomish Homeowner Assistance Fund cannot exceed $10,000 per household. If your needs exceed this amount, there is the option to apply for Washington State’s Homeowner Assistance Fund, which can assist with up to $60,000 per household. Information on the state program can be found at wshfc.org/HAF, washingtonhaf.org, and by calling the Washington State Homeownership Hotline at 1-877-894-4663 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.).
For questions regarding the Swinomish Homeowner Assistance Fund, please email HAF@swinomish.nsn.us or call (360) 588-3002, ext.1. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours. Follow this link to the view policy: swinomish-nsn.gov/resources/planning/public-notices.