South Carolina State Housing will be the featured topic of conversation during this interview with Clayton Ingram, director of marketing and communication. He will familiarize our readers with the S.C. housing mission and introduce a program the authority is administrating known as S.C. Help.

“Our mission is that all South Carolinians have the opportunity to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing,” said Ingram.

Help is available to struggling homeowners in South Carolina. Almost $300 million in funds to keep homeowners in their homes.

South Carolina has been awarded $295,431,200 in funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. S.C. Housing Corp., a non-profit division of the S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority is administering the program known in South Carolina as S.C. Help.

These programs are available in all 46 counties of the state. S.C. Help hopes to eventually assist between 20,000 and 33,000 homeowners who are at high risk of default or foreclosure.

Responsible Borrowers — S.C. Help is intended to assist responsible borrowers—those borrowers who are facing possible foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control, i.e. unemployment, underemployment of significant reduction of self-employment income. For some programs, death of a spouse, catastrophic medical expenses, and/or divorce may be considered.

S.C. Help is not intended to serve borrowers who are facing foreclosure due to poor credit and/or debt management, stripping the equity from their home for nonessential purposes, or overall mismanagement of their person budget.

Three programs are available

• Monthly payment assistance—assisting homeowners with monthly payments for a defined period of time while they seek employment and a return to self-sustainability.

• Direct Loan Assistance—for borrowers who have fallen behind on payments during periods of hardship, but have recovered and are not sustainable. This will bring loans current and end fees and penalties.

• Transition Assistance—in cases where the mortgage cannot be salvaged, funds may be provided to encourage short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure and transition families from home ownership to tenancy.

Homeowners may quality for more than one type of assistance.

There is no household income limit, however, there is an assistance cap placed on each eligible homeowner.

Nature of the Assistance — This assistance is made as a loan, however, it will be a loan made at 0 percent interest and will be forgivable at a rate of 20 percent per year. If you continue to live in the home for five years the loan will be forgiven. If you sell the home before that time, any balance will need to be paid from the net proceeds. Transition Assistance is a one-time grant paid directly to the homeowner.

How to Apply—Applicants are encouraged to apply electronically through the application located at: www.schelp.com. Applicants without access to the Internet may call 1-855-435-7472, a statewide, toll free telephone number, for assistance. There is no fee required at any point during the S.C. Help process.

“S.C. State Housing is self-sustaining and receives no state appropriations. We are proud that we have been able to serve our State for three decades and we are committed to our mission. Our vision is that all South Carolinians have the opportunity to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing,” said Ingram.