The deadline for unemployed homeowners in 32 states to apply for mortgage assistance under a special emergency program has been extended until Wednesday.

If they qualify, homeowners can get interest-free loans to pay a portion of their monthly mortgage, as well as back payments and legal fees, for up to $50,000 or two years, whichever comes first. The loans do not have to be repaid, as long as the homeowner continues making mortgage payments on time for five years. The program was expected to help from 20,000 to 30,000 distressed homeowners.

Known as the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program, it is available to homeowners ineligible for the larger, $7.6 billion “hardest hit” fund, which provided assistance to 18 states that absorbed the worst of the housing crisis.

The emergency program is available in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The program is also offered in Puerto Rico. Five other states also have similar programs: Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

For more information, see http://findehlp.com/

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f617b2ec45ae772eaaaba3ef5ac90725