Homeowner finally receives mortgage aid OK from state
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS — More than two months after registering with Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, Scott Silver has finally been approved for mortgage assistance from the $676 million in federal funds the state received to help struggling homeowners.
“With these funds, I am confident that I can sustain going forward,” Silver said. “It’s just been the [waiting] that’s been tough.”
In February, Florida opened a portal for residents who were behind on their mortgages to register for assistance, provided by Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan for people suffering from pandemic-related hardship.
Silver registered the first day, then waited nearly eight weeks for any response.
On April 22, two days after a story ran in the Orlando Sentinel about Silver’s wait time, the DEO sent him an email telling him he could apply for the money.
More than a week after submitting his application, a DEO agent called him Thursday to tell him he was approved.
Silver hasn’t actually received the money or learned any details of how much he qualifies for or when it will be paid to his creditors. While he was assured the nearly $10,000 he needs for his mortgage would be available, the agent he spoke with could not say whether he would get help with utility bills, which the fund is also authorized to provide.
“They said it will take about a week to get the letter [with the details],” he said.
When he called the DEO for more information, the operator told him they couldn’t look up his account or give him any specifics.
“It would be nice people who answer the phones, especially with hundreds of millions of dollars, to be able to say, ‘We see you right here ... Everything looks good on our end,’ ” he said.
In an email sent after the original story about Silver ran in the Sentinel, DEO spokeswoman Morgan Jones said the program was managed by a “growing team of 163 employees.” The DEO has said it has approved “more than $1 million” to more than 200 homeowners since the creation of a pilot program in November.
By comparison, California, which opened its program in December, had given out more than $6 million in its first two months, and to date has distributed $38,484,393, according to the state agency overseeing the fund.
Jones did not respond this week to a request for more information.
Applicants chosen to get assistance first must meet one of three criteria, according to DEO’s website:
the annual household income is less than or equal to 100% of the area median income, or 100% of the U.S. AMI, whichever is greater;
the eligible property is in a Census tract with a median
income that is less than or equal to the U.S. AMI;
the applicant is a Socially Disadvantaged Individual or the eligible property is in a Florida economically distressed rural county or city.