Protecting homeowners from the unexpected

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

Thomas Mackey has a nice little three-bedroom house on a golf course in Carolina Beach, N.C.

Last fall, when he refinanced his mortgage, Mackey, 61, had a good job as director of food services at an assisted-living facility. When his lender told him the loan came with a complimentary mortgage protection plan, Mackey never gave it a second thought.

“I didn’t even pay attention to it because I never thought I’d have to use it,” he recalls.

Three months later, Mackey lost his job. But he didn’t lose his house because of that mortgage assurance program backed by the Rainy Day Foundation, a non-profit group headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The foundation made Mackey’s next four $1,400 mortgage payments and is likely to make two more.

“It’s unbelievable,” he says. “I wouldn’t have my house anymore if it weren’t for them.”

Chances are you never heard of the Rainy Day Foundation.

Until a few weeks ago, neither had I. If you’re ready to buy a house or refinance your mortgage, you should know about the foundation.

“Our goal is to help homeowners maintain homeownership,” says CEO Rick Del Sontro.

The Rainy Day Foundation rolled out its Homeowner Education and Loan Protection program (HELP) about 19 months ago. HELP is only available when you buy a home or refinance a mortgage. You cannot enroll on your own. The program is paid for by participating lenders, builders or real estate firms.

More than 125 companies across the country have partnered with the foundation. Most are local or regional lenders. But a number of big banks, including Wells Fargo, SunTrust, Flagstar and National City, also take part.

Main Street Homes, a major builder in Austin and San Antonio, enrolls every single buyer in the HELP program.

How HELP works
The program has three major components: counseling, job loss protection and grants for emergency mortgage payments.

Rainy Day counselors help buyers through the critical first two years of homeownership. That’s when they are most likely to bust the budget on furniture, appliances and other things for their new home.

A counselor calls each month (for at least the first 6 months) to answer questions, make sure their clients are living within their budget and saving a little for a rainy day. The goal is to tackle any problems early on.

Getting HELP The Rainy Day Foundation says its HELP program has counseled, educated and financially assisted more than 15,000 homeowners since 2008. This year, the program is projected to provide more than $8 million in mortgage grants. The Rainy Day Foundation would like to help more people. To find a lender offering the HELP program contact the foundation at 888-375-3965.

“We want them to know that if something happens we are there for them and they can fall back on us,” Del Sontro says.

The HELP program also includes job loss protection. That’s what’s paying Thomas Mackey’s mortgage. It kicks in 60 days after closing and lasts for two years.

If you lose your job or your income drops for some reason during those 24 months, the Rainy Day Foundation will make your house payments – up to $1,800 per month – for up to six months. This is a grant that never has to be repaid.

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