Pennsylvania is struggling to overhaul its troubled mortgage relief program and desperate homeowners are stuck in the middle.

Long delays dogged the $350 million program from the start, leading the state to cut ties with the company it put in charge. 

But now, almost five months after the state took over, problems persist and the transition has in some cases created new ones. 

Read Spotlight PA's full report: ‘It shouldn’t be this difficult:’ Pa. homeowners desperate as mortgage aid struggles drag on.

THE CONTEXT: The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is in charge of the pandemic-inspired utility bill and mortgage relief program now, but it has barely made a dent in the application backlog, meaning many homeowners are no closer to receiving aid than they were before.

Patty Pollock, 67, was thousands of dollars behind on her mortgage and facing foreclosure when she appeared in Columbia County court in a last-ditch effort to save her home. But she struggled to assure the judge that help was on the way. The status of her aid application was a mystery.

"100% no," Pollock answered when asked by her attorney whether she had any solid information about her case. Spotlight PA's reporting adds: 

Homeowners with federally backed mortgages, like Pollock, were supposed to be protected from foreclosure for up to 60 days while they waited for help.

But that protection only kicks in once the state's aid program — not the homeowner — tells a mortgage company someone has applied. As Pollock sat in court that day, her loan servicer had not heard from any officials.

Her case was stuck in a bureaucratic no man’s land.

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A great blue heron taking off over Jordan Creek in the Trexler Nature Preserve in Lehigh County, via Don N. Have a photo you'd like to share? Send it to us by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania.

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