Alaska Housing opens pre-registration for homeowner assistance program

WASILLA — Alaska Housing Finance Corporation recently opened the pre-registration window for its homeowner assistance program.

Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance is intended to offer relief to homeowners across the state that are facing financial hardships such as mortgage delinquencies or the loss of critical services due to the pandemic in connection with the congressionally approved American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, according to a recent press release.

Homeowners must demonstrate that difficulties are directly related to circumstances associated with COVID-19 to qualify for assistance. Examples include a reduction or loss of income, delaying the purchase of essential goods to pay for home-related expenses, relying on credit cards or high-cost payday lenders, or depleting savings accounts to buffer the loss of wages.

“As we move through the pre-registration and application windows, AHFC will be monitoring the data to assess levels of need statewide,” Alaska Housing CEO and Executive Director Bryan Butcher stated in the press release.

Alaska is one of 15 states to be allocated $50 million by the U.S. Treasury as part of the national Homeowner Assistance Fund, according to the press release. Over $9.9 billion in federal funds have been allocated toward relief for the country’s most vulnerable homeowners experiencing home insecurities related to the pandemic after Jan. 21, 2020.

“Once the application window closes and AHFC enters the review phase, our end goal will be to work with our servicing partners to quickly distribute this relief to benefit Alaska’s homeowners,” Butcher stated in the press release.

A total of 4,007 Alaskans have checked their eligibility as of Monday, Feb. 28, according to the press release. A majority of interest came from Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, and the Mat-Su Valley.

All Alaskan homeowners that have been financially impacted by the pandemic are encouraged to pre-register and check their eligibility prior to the application window from March 14 through April 4.

For more information, visit alaskahousingrelief.org.