HEMAP Explained — The Pennsylvania Mortgage Assistance Program That Can Pause Your Foreclosure
Most states do not have anything like HEMAP. Pennsylvania does, and that single fact is one of the most important pieces of information for any Pennsylvania homeowner facing foreclosure.
HEMAP — the Homeowner's Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program — was created by Act 91 of Pennsylvania's General Assembly in 1983 and has been administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) ever since. It is a state-backed loan program designed to bring delinquent mortgages current and provide ongoing monthly assistance to qualifying homeowners who are facing foreclosure because of circumstances beyond their control. It is not a grant. It is a loan that must be repaid. But for the right homeowner, it can be the difference between losing a Pennsylvania home and saving it.
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What HEMAP Actually Does
HEMAP can provide up to $60,000 to bring a delinquent Pennsylvania mortgage current, plus continuing monthly mortgage assistance for a defined period — generally up to 24 months, depending on circumstances. The loan is funded by Pennsylvania state appropriations and by repayments of prior HEMAP loans. The program is administered by PHFA, the same state agency that runs Pennsylvania's affordable housing programs.
Two important things to be clear about. First, HEMAP is a loan, not a grant — the funds must be repaid. Second, HEMAP has eligibility requirements that not every Pennsylvania homeowner meets. Understanding both halves of that picture is critical to making a real decision.
Who Qualifies for HEMAP
- Pennsylvania homeowners on a one- or two-family owner-occupied primary residence
- At least 60 days delinquent on the mortgage
- Facing foreclosure because of circumstances beyond your control (job loss, medical emergency, divorce, death of a wage earner, etc.)
- Reasonable prospect of resuming full mortgage payments within the program's timeframe — HEMAP needs to see a path back to self-sufficiency
- Have NOT failed to make a good-faith effort to pay your mortgage prior to falling behind
Who Does NOT Qualify
- FHA Title II (purchase) mortgages are not eligible
- Homeowners who cannot demonstrate a path back to full mortgage payments within the program window
- Investors / non-owner-occupants
- Homeowners whose financial circumstances are not 'beyond their control' as the statute defines it
How to Apply for HEMAP
Applications are made exclusively through a face-to-face meeting with a HEMAP-approved Consumer Credit Counseling Agency, within 33 days of the postmark on your Act 91 notice. The counseling meeting is free. The PHFA directory lists approved agencies by Pennsylvania county.
Important: during the HEMAP application process, the lender generally cannot proceed with foreclosure.
This pause power is one of HEMAP's most useful features — it buys time even if your application is ultimately not approved. But the pause depends on the application actually being filed in time, which means the 33-day deadline matters.
When HEMAP Is The Right Path — and When It Is Not
HEMAP works well when your foreclosure pressure is temporary and your financial future is recoverable. The classic case: a medical emergency or temporary job loss caused you to fall behind, but you have a clear path back to full mortgage payments within 12-24 months. HEMAP brings the mortgage current, provides monthly assistance during the recovery, and you repay the HEMAP loan once you are back on your feet.
HEMAP does not work as well when the foreclosure pressure is structural — when your income loss is permanent, when your debt-to-income picture cannot support repayment of both the original mortgage and the new HEMAP loan, or when your mortgage is FHA Title II (purchase) and therefore not eligible. In these cases, the most honest answer is often a clean sale before the sheriff sale, which preserves whatever equity exists rather than carrying the asset to a foreclosure that destroys it.
Talking to a HEMAP-approved counselor is free and is the right first call either way. They will tell you honestly whether HEMAP is realistic in your case. If it is, you have your answer. If it is not, you know that too — and then a cash sale before the sheriff sale becomes a serious option worth pricing.
How Schuylkill Home Fits Around HEMAP
We are not in competition with HEMAP. If HEMAP works for you, take HEMAP. We will be the first to tell you so when we read your situation. But when HEMAP does not work — when income loss is permanent, when the mortgage is not eligible, when the math will not support repayment — a real cash offer to close before the sheriff sale is often the dignified path to preserving equity. We close in 7-14 days, pay off the existing mortgage at closing, and the foreclosure case becomes moot. The remaining equity comes to you.
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