In April 2022, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) launched the Save the Dream Ohio program to help Ohio homeowners who have been financially impacted by a loss of income or increase in expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, as of September 2022, the last quarterly report to the US Treasury, the program has helped more than 12,000 households, which results in more than $66 million in funding.
OHFA continues to work with mortgage servicers, banks, and local nonprofit organizations to help meet the goals of the program, preventing mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures, and other negative housing-related outcomes for Ohio homeowners.
Homeowners that are facing foreclosure or are delinquent on their mortgage payments as a result of the pandemic are encouraged to apply for assistance. Save the Dream Ohio has two components: Mortgage Assistance and Utility Assistance Plus (UAP).
Through Mortgage Assistance component, which is administered by OHFA, eligible Ohio homeowners may receive future mortgage payments for up to six months and/or assistance to pay delinquent mortgage payments. Each qualifying household can receive up to $25,000 in assistance.
Local Community Action Agencies and other nonprofit organizations work with OHFA to administer UAP. With UAP, eligible Ohio homeowners may receive financial assistance up to $10,000 to pay delinquent utility bills, property taxes, and other housing costs not included in mortgage payments.
Payments from Save the Dream Ohio program are made directly to homeowners' mortgage servicers, utility companies, taxing authorities, insurance companies, or homeowner associations and applied directly to homeowners' accounts. There are no fees associated with SDO, and no third parties are needed to apply to the program.
OHFA encourages interested Ohio homeowners to visit savethedream.ohiohome.org or call (888) 404-4674 to learn more about the program as grant awards are subject to funding availability. The program will continue until all funding is depleted or September 30, 2025, whichever comes first.
