Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP)

What kind of mortgage assistance can we offer?

The Vermont Banking Division can tell you what relief programs, counseling or other options may be available to you, and how to access them. The range of assistance depends upon where you are with your mortgage payments and any foreclosure process.

The Division does not have funding or grant monies to distribute to distressed mortgage holders. We may be able to help facilitate communications between you and your lender to come to a mutually agreeable course of action.

The most important thing to know:

If at all possible, do not skip payments and wait to seek help only after your lender initiates a foreclosure action. This will not result in any better eligibility for assistance. The EARLIER you take action to avert delinquency, the better your chances to work out a solution to retain your home.

What other kind of help is available?

See which “IF” below best describes you. The associated avenues for help are examples and may not apply to everyone or include all sources of assistance. Every borrower’s situation carries a unique set of circumstances.

IF:
You still are managing to stay current on your mortgage payments and have equity in your home, but fear an upcoming financial crisis because of, for example, an upcoming adjustment in your mortgage rate, a job layoff, divorce, health crisis or other change in circumstances…

  • You may be able to contact your lender to explore any willingness to negotiate on the terms of your loan.
  • You may be able to explore refinancing at other local institutions.

IF:
You are already delinquent on your mortgage payments and facing the threat of imminent foreclosure

  • We may counsel you about contacting your lender to explore any willingness to negotiate on the terms of your loan, or a help you through a loss mitigation process. Loss mitigation provides alternatives that assist the borrower in making payments and can include a loan modification that amends the terms of the loan to allow the borrower to continue making their payments.
  • We may help you explore refinancing at other local institutions.
  • Homeowners’s HOPE may be a resource.

IF:
You are already IN a foreclosure process with the bank or lender, and been given a timeline in which to make satisfactory steps or lose your property…

  • Understand that you may still have options, but the “train is running.” A foreclosure process takes 6 – 9 months. A lender may be willing to engage in a negotiation process with a borrower, arriving at a set of conditions/extensions the borrower must earnestly meet which will “stop the foreclosure train” down the tracks. But once the train starts, it is going to keep running even while you make your effort to meet such conditions. Then, it’s a matter of whichever happens first: either you meet the negotiated conditions to the lender’s satisfaction, or the “foreclosure train” reaches the end of its track.
  • While this may be a wrenching decision, it is probably best to evaluate whether holding onto the home you currently own is in your best financial interests. It may only perpetuate a financial burden that may have been too great for you in the first place, and temporary relief will only postpone foreclosure.

Related Website Information/Links

Ways to Contact the Vermont Banking Division:

  • You may TELEPHONE with an inquiry:
    (802)-828-3307 or
    toll-free: 1-888-568-4547 for the Mortgage Assistance Program
  • You may WRITE to:
    Vermont Banking Division
    BISHCA
    89 Main St.
    Montpelier, VT 05620-3101

     
  • You May E-MAIL US at the Banking Division