YORK, Pa. — The federal moratorium on foreclosures is over and local filings are pouring in.
Recent data shows 257 foreclosures were filed between January and May, according to the York County Prothonotary Office. This year's filings are on pace to surpass last year's numbers, which eclipsed 497 foreclosures.
However, the number of foreclosures isn't quite near pre-pandemic levels.
“In 2023, we’ve only had 257 foreclosure filings [to date], but in 2019 we had 397 foreclosure filings [from January to May],” said Shanna Terroso, the CEO of the Realtors Association of York and Adams Counties.
Still, thousands of Pennsylvanians are seeking mortgage assistance with the pandemic moratorium expiring. Randi Shover, a housing finance assistant with Tenfold, says she’s seeing more people struggle in this economic climate.
“The housing market has increased, which has driven up home prices and also rent," Shover explained. "People are finding that there’s not as much money left over as they might have experienced in the past.”
Pennsylvania homeowners are eligible to receive mortgage assistance through the state's Homeowners Assistance Fund, which was allotted $350 million through the American Rescue Plan.
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is processing more than 18,000 applications for the fund right now; however, distributing the funds has been slow. In February, the agency had to take over operations from a flailing contractor that was initially in charge of administering the program.
“It seemed that some applications were not being processed as fast and there were some issues," said Kelly Wilson, whose team is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Homeowners Assistance Fund. "So we decided to bring the administration in-house.”
Homeowners have received $122 million from the fund so far, with another $228 million dollars waiting to be sent out. Wilson said the agency is prioritizing people who are at immediate risk of losing their homes.
“If you let us know about an imminent adverse action, we’ll make sure to get your application processed well in advance of that date," said Wilson.
All homeowners who have previously registered for the PAHAF program are being asked to re-register. The agency is traveling across the Commonwealth to help register applicants, with the next stops being Lycoming County on Thursday, July 12 and Allegheny, Butler, Crawford, and Westmoreland Counties next week.
You can also re-register at the PA Housing Finance Agency's website, or by calling 888-987-2423.