Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Blog

Escrow shortage grant for COVID Impact Relief Deferral participants

Written by Guest Blogger | 3:00 PM on September 1, 2021

Guest blog by Jesse Lindsey,
Homeownership Preservation Assistant

With great pleasure, TCHFH Lending, Inc. is pleased to announce the Escrow Shortage Hardship Assistance Program (ESHAP).

TCHFH Lending, Inc. has recently been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Rapid Response Program to assist homeowners who experience financial hardship due to COVID-19. Grant funds will be available to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity homeowners and TruePath mortgage holders. The appropriation of funds will be applied toward escrow shortages resulting from mortgage payment deferrals.

Since March 2020, TCHFH Lending, Inc. has made COVID-19 Impact Relief Deferrals available to Habitat homeowners. Deferrals are an excellent option for homeowners facing financial hardship due to COVID-19. However, COVID-19 relief deferrals left some homeowners with a negative escrow balance. We want to continue helping homeowners by offering Escrow Shortage Hardship Assistance to balance homeowners’ escrow shortages.

Habitat homeowners who received a COVID-19 Impact Relief Deferral after January 21, 2020, and those currently experiencing issues with their escrow balance, can contact Jesse Lindsey, Homeownership Preservation Assistant, at jesse.lindsey@tchabitat.org or (612) 305-7237. Funding to cover escrow shortage is limited and will be applied on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are a Habitat homeowner and you’re experiencing financial hardship, please visit the Habitat Homeowner Resources webpage.

If you are a non-Habitat homeowner facing possible foreclosure, please visit our Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention webpage. Habitat provides free counseling, advocacy, and resources to homeowners behind on mortgage payments or property taxes.