The Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund - Do You Qualify?
In February 2022, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs administered a new $842.2 million fund to help Texan homeowners who have been hit hard by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund (TxHAF) is designed to help qualified homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage, property taxes, property insurance, or HOA/condo fees. The TxHAF stopped taking applications in October 2023. Those homeowners who were not among the successful applicants now need to look elsewhere to find help paying their outstanding property taxes and other property-related bills.
The TxHAF’s Three Programs
The TxHAF offered three programs to assist homeowners with their property costs: the Mortgage Program, the Property Charge Program, and the Utility Payment Program. The Mortgage Program was there to assist eligible homeowners with their past-due mortgage payments. It offered a maximum grant of $40,000 per qualifying household. The Property Charge Program was designed to help homeowners pay their property taxes and HOA/condo association fees. The household cap for this program was also $25,000. The Utility Payment Program provided assistance in paying overdue utility bills and up to three months of prospective payments. Eligible utilities included electric, gas, metered and non-metered propane, water and wastewater, and trash collection.
Who Qualifies For The TxHAF?
In order to be eligible for the TxHAF, Texan homeowners need to meet the following criteria:
- They need to have fallen behind on one or more of four payments related to their properties: mortgage, property taxes, property insurance, or HOA/condo fees.
- The household’s total income must be at or below 100% Area Median Income (AMI) or median income for the United States, whichever is greater.
- Own and occupy a Texan property as a primary residence.
- The property owner must have experienced a qualified financial hardship after January 2020, such as the loss of income or increased expenses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are also some additional program requirements for each program within the TxHAF. There are two of these - the Mortgage Program and the Property Charge Default Program. The former applies to defaults on home loans, while the latter includes all other property-related fees, including property taxes.
If you have fallen behind on your property taxes due to COVID-related financial hardship, you could receive up to $25,000 in relief from the fund for property taxes and up to $40,000 on a mortgage.
The Aims of The TxHAF
The fund is designed to prevent 35,000 home losses within the next 24 months and to bring around 13,000 homeowners up to date on their property taxes. At least ten percent of the homeowners who receive assistance from the fund are those within the state’s persistent poverty counties.
The Application Process
To apply for help from the fund, homeowners can visit its online portal, where all the necessary forms are available. Once an application is approved, the funds are not paid to the applicant but directly to the mortgage provider or property charge payee, such as the relevant bank, tax authority, or insurance company. You will need to provide valid identification, a past-due statement from the relevant institution, proof of income, and proof of occupancy.
The Closing of the TxHAF
On October 9, 2023, an announcement appeared on the official Texas Homeowner Assistance website stating that the program had stopped accepting new applications. Applications submitted after midnight that day were not processed. With the funding deadline having been reached, the program moved into its second phase, in which thousands of applications were processed based on the program guidelines. The TxHAF is now in its third and final phase. With all the applications having been processed, the fund is busy making all the final payments. The final numbers are yet to be made public, but when the fund stopped taking applications at the end of 2023, it had paid out approximately $494,718,501 to 43,475 homeowners across 254 counties. Of these households, the majority(24,231) needed assistance with their mortgages, while 9,576 applied for help with their property taxes. 17,49815,145 were behind on their utilities, and the remaining applicants were in arrears on HOA fees and property insurance.
The total amount granted to the State of Texas by the U.S. Department of the Treasury was $842,214,006. Some of this is still in the state coffers, but it will be paid out to the final applicants soon.
What Should You Do if You Didn’t Qualify or Missed the Application Deadline?
Missing the Homeowner Assistance Fund Program (HAF) deadline—or not meeting its eligibility criteria—doesn’t mean you’re out of options. If you’re facing foreclosure or struggling with making mortgage payments, overdue property taxes, or related expenses, here are practical steps to regain financial stability:
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Consider a Property Tax Loan: A property tax loan is an effective solution for clearing overdue taxes and avoiding penalties or foreclosure. Trusted providers like American Finance & Investment Co., Inc. (AFIC) offer loans with no upfront costs, no credit checks, and flexible repayment plans, tailored to your needs.
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Seek Local Housing Assistance Programs: Many Texas counties offer financial aid or payment deferral options for homeowners experiencing financial hardship. These programs often consider 100 percent of the area median income or the county in which the property is located.
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Contact Your Mortgage Loan Servicer: If your mortgage is in arrears, contact your servicer about options like forbearance or loan modification. Many servicers, under provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act, assist households impacted due to the pandemic.
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Access Housing Counseling Services: Nonprofit organizations provide free or low-cost housing counseling services to help you navigate financial challenges. These services focus on strategies to prevent mortgage delinquencies and defaults 1. and can offer personalized guidance based on your circumstances.
By taking these steps, you can address your financial challenges and move forward with confidence. For immediate assistance, contact AFIC to discuss how a property tax loan can help you settle your outstanding obligations and secure your financial future.
What Should You Do if You Didn’t Qualify or Missed the Application Deadline?
Unfortunately, many qualifying homeowners would have missed the application deadline, meaning that they are still in arrears on their mortgage, property taxes, insurance, or HOA fees. In addition, not all Texas homeowners who defaulted on their property taxes were eligible for relief from the TxHAF. If, for example, you were behind on your property taxes but had an income above the median, or the property isn’t your homestead, the fund administrators would not have considered you. Whether you are one of the homeowners who didn’t apply or applied too late, or you are among those who submitted your application only to be disappointed, other solutions are still available.
Get Help From a Property Tax Lender You Can Trust
A Texas property tax loan from American Finance & Investment Co., Inc. (AFIC) can help you settle your tax liability immediately and give you a manageable repayment plan that suits your schedule and budget. AFIC has been assisting Texas homeowners with their property taxes since 1946 and is proud to support and give back to the community from which it has grown.
AFIC offers our clients an affordable, hassle-free way to manage their Texas property taxes. We can ensure that your account with the local government tax office is paid in full and will work out a manageable repayment plan for you. AFIC can provide you with an instant quote by completing the form on our homepage. For qualifying properties, we can help you pay off your delinquent taxes and offer you the following benefits:
- Quick and completely online process
- No money down
- No credit check
- Free 30-day rate match
- Match competitors and beat their rate by 1%
- Avoid high penalties and foreclosure
We pride ourselves on finding solutions to suit the unique needs of our clients. If you would like to discuss our property tax loans, or if you are behind on your taxes due to COVID-related financial hardship but still do not qualify for relief from the Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund, please contact our experienced team at AFIC today.
