Cobb County
HomeSaver
Program

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners has approved $4.8 million in emergency funding to provide Cobb County homeowners affected by COVID-19 mortgage payment assistance and homeownership counseling.

HomeFree-USA, A National HUD Intermediary, HomeFree-USA,
administers the Cobb HomeSaver Program.

Learn More

How It Works

Beginning August 17, homeowners who own a home in Cobb County and have been adversely affected by COVID-19, may apply for mortgage payment assistance up to $4,800 and/or homeownership counseling. They must have occupied the home prior to March 1, 2020 and currently occupy the home, and they must currently be delinquent on their mortgage payments.

The Cobb Home Saver program is designed to mitigate home losses and provide optional homeownership counseling. Both independent and government studies have shown that when engaged at the onset of a crisis, homeownership education and counseling reduce the odds of foreclosure by 42%. The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved $4.8 million in emergency funding for the program. The funding comes from the $132 million allocated to the county in the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The information below will assist homeowners in understanding who is eligible, how to apply, how monies will be disbursed, and how the optional counseling works.

Applications

The initial application submission form will be reviewed by a HomeFree-USA intake specialist to ensure that all required documentation has been submitted. Once your application is complete, it will be reviewed by a certified Homeownership Advisor to determine, based on the eligibility requirements, whether or not you will receive a grant and or counseling. The grant amount will be based on, the amount in delinquency (and program grant limits), the applicant’s current employment status, and whether or not the applicant is currently participating in a forbearance program with their lender.

Mortgage assistance grants will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. All applications submitted that meet the eligibility requirements will be considered.

Click HERE to view the Frequently Asked Questions about the program. Additional questions? Email: CobbHomeSaver@homefreeusa.org.

Grants & Counseling Assistance

Two types of mortgage assistance will be available in two ways for homeowners affected by Covid-19 after March 1st 2020, based on the homeowner’s circumstances and who meet the income limit guidelines (as outlined in the eligibility section below). Homeowners must have experienced a COVID-19 related involuntary financial hardship, resulting in reduced income due to a change in employment, medical hardship, death of a spouse/co-borrower in order to be eligible.

Eligibility will be verified via the submitted supporting documentation to include, but not limited to, pay-stubs, tax returns, proof of unemployment/benefits, bank statements, copy of deed, and utility bills to confirm residency.

*Only complete applications will be considered for funding

How the Cobb HomeSaver Program can assist you:

  1. For the homeowner who has fallen behind in their payments due to a COVID-19 related job loss but is back to work, however, does not have the assets to “catch-up” the mortgage:
    • a one-time payment, up to $4,800, to bring the delinquent mortgage current.
  2. For those homeowners who remain unemployed or underemployed due to COVID-19, a combination of assistance would be available:
    • Mortgage payment assistance – up to three months mortgage payment assistance, up to $4,800, if deemed necessary by the Homeownership Advisor;
    • Counseling assistance – assistance includes making recommendation to the homeowner, making them aware of the options and/or programs available to them based on their personal circumstances and type of loan, negotiating with lenders on their behalf, assistance with preparing and submitting packages for loan modifications and/or principal reductions.

Eligibility Requirements

The following are the eligibility requirements for all homeowners in order to be considered for the program. If the home is owned jointly, then both homeowners must be listed on the application. It is vital for applicants to submit the required accompanying documentation to ensure a complete application submittal. Only complete applications will be considered for funding. The eligibility requirements are as follows:
  • Homeowner must have experienced a COVID-19 related involuntary financial hardship, resulting in reduced income due to a change in employment, medical hardship, death of a spouse/co-borrower
  • Homeowner has experienced an involuntary reduction in income of 20% or more due to COVID-19; or received unemployment benefits after March 1, 2020 due to COVID-19; or is receiving unemployment benefits at the time of the application due to COVID-19
  • Homeowner must be residing in property located within Cobb County, as their primary residence as of March 1, 2020
  • Homeowner on application must be named on either the Note, Deed of Trust, and/or Warranty Deed
  • Homeowner may not be in an active bankruptcy
  • Homeowner must not have cash in bank accounts that exceeds three times your monthly mortgage payment at the time of application (excluding retirement/401K accounts)
  • Homeowner’s adjusted gross income must be ($69,439 or less) for an individual applicant and ($94,672 or less) for joint applicants. You can locate your adjusted gross income (AGI) on your form 1040 U.S. individual tax return line 8b
  • Homeowner must provide documentation to support all of the above, to include but not limited to the following: proof of unemployment, proof of impact from COVID-19, up to two most recent years tax returns with all schedules, current mortgage statement, copy of deed, two months of bank statements with all pages. All documentation will not be required at the time the application is submitted, but will be required BEFORE the application is approved.

How to Apply

The following is a step-by-step breakdown of how to apply, what to expect, and what you will need to complete your application. In order to ensure the process is fair and equitable, completed applications with all necessary documentation will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Step 1

Fill out the application in-take form.

Click on the “click here to apply” link to fill out the application form. This form is to be submitted BEFORE attempting to send any documents. Upon completing the form, click submit. In the event you do not meet the eligibility criteria in section 1, the system will not allow you to continue.

Step 2

Acknowledge of receipt.

Upon successfully submitting your application form, you will receive a reply from HomeFree-USA to the email address listed on your application within 24 hours or on the next business day if during the weekends. The reply will outline a list of documents needed to complete your application, along with instructions and options on how to deliver your documents to HomeFree-USA.
Note: All correspondence will be to the email used to submit application, so be sure to use your email address for privacy, protection, and correspondence.

Step 3

Submit your supporting documents within 48 hours.

You will have the option to submit the remainder of your documents via fax, email, or the secured portal provided to you on the instructions that you will receive. The additional documentation required to fully complete your application is outlined below;

Documents that will be needed to complete your application:

  • Copy of Deed and most recent mortgage statement
  • Proof of reduction in income (pay stubs, copy of unemployment benefits)
  • Copy of most recent utility bill with homeowner’s name and matching property address
  • Copy of two most recent years personal tax returns with all schedules (if home is owned jointly, then both names will need to appear or joint homeowner’s return must also be submitted). IRS Forms accepted include: 1040, 1040A, 1040 EZ, 1040-SR
  • Copy of W-2’s and 1099’s (for both homeowners if jointly owned)
  • Copy of two most recent months of bank statements (all pages)
Once the application and all documents have been submitted, HomeFree-USA will review your application to ensure eligibility. Based on review, HomeFree-USA will determine which applicants are eligible to receive grants and/or homeownership counseling. An advisor will contact you within 7-days of applying to inform you of your status and to discuss next-steps (if applicable).
Click Here to apply

About
HomeFree-USA

HomeFree-USA is a leading nonprofit homeownership development and financial empowerment organization. Over its 25 year history HomeFree-USA has produced more than 10,000 first time homebuyers and enjoys a 0% foreclosure rate among the homeowners it prepared for homeownership.

“During this unprecedented time, too many people are struggling financially and facing housing instability. HomeFree-USA is honored to work with Cobb County homeowners to help them stabilize their housing needs now and put them on a path to ongoing homeownership success.” – Marcia Griffin, President and CEO of HomeFree-USA

As a HUD intermediary, HomeFree-USA oversees a nationwide network of 53 community and faith-based nonprofit homeownership development agencies. Learn more at HomeFreeUSA.org.

Click Here to apply

Application Resources

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Application
Resources

Need help completing your application?

Watch the playback of the
information webinar.

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Frequently Asked Questions

In order to assist the maximum number of Cobb County residents adversely affected by COVID-19, a person may only receive housing assistance from one of Cobb County’s CARES Act funded programs, Star-C or HomeSaver.
No, This program is funded through the CARES Act and the use of any funds received are strictly limited to mortgage and counseling assistance. This is a grant, therefore does not need to be repaid.
Visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov to get a copy of their wage transcripts (for W-2’s) and/or tax transcripts. Contact your HR Department for a copy of your paystubs.
No. Grants are strictly for homeowners residing in the home as primary residency.
You will find a copy of your Warranty Deed from your closing docs from your purchase or you can go on-line to get a copy from the following link https://research.cobbsuperiorcourtclerk.com/
You may submit a copy of your gas, electric or water bill that shows the mailing address and the service address.
No. To simplify and speed up the review process, all required documents should be submitted at the same time AFTER completing the grant application and receiving acknowledgement of receipt.
If you have not filed your 2019 taxes, then you will need to provide proof that an extension has been filed or proof they do not have to be filed.
No, this Must be primary residence.
Yes, as long as you are delinquent on your mortgage and do not have the funds to catch up, then you may apply.
This program is hardships created by Covid-19. If you were delinquent more than 30 days prior to March 1st, you will not be eligible for any grant assistance.
Unfortunately, as with most Covid-19 programs, funds are limited and therefore complete applications will be processed in the order they are received until funding remains available.

Unfortunately, your application will not be reviewed until all documentation is received.

Yes, if you did not receive an email reply, first check your junk mail. If no email is received, then you may contact HomeFree-USA direct by dialing 855-493-4002 or by sending an email to CobbHomeSaver@HomeFreeUSA.org
No, any funds disbursed under this grant will be made directly to your lender on your behalf of you the homeowner. Therefore, it is essential that you provide us with accurate documents.
Important Note: This program is funded through the CARES Act and the use of any funds received are strictly limited to mortgage assistance. All payments will be made directly to lender on borrower’s behalf and not to borrower themselves. Recipients may be required to sign a memorandum of understanding with HomeFree-USA to ensure accountability of funds and services provided. HomeFree-USA is an independent agent of Cobb County.

Copyright © 2020. Cobb County HomeSaver Program.

Due to the overwhelming number of applications eligible for grant consideration and limited funding, we have temporarily suspended application acceptance. However, should additional funds become available we will accept applications.

Please feel free to continue to check the site for future consideration. If your application has already been submitted, we will contact you on or before November 1st at the email address provided on your application submission regarding an update.