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CalHFA reports more than 800 applications for Calusas mortgage fund after June launch
Summary
Acting director Rebecca Franklin told the CalHFA board that the agency launched the Calusas mortgage fund for homeowners whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by recent disasters and that more than 800 applications have been submitted and over 800 saved since applications opened June 12.
Acting director Rebecca Franklin updated the California Housing Finance Agency board on June 23 about the Calusas mortgage fund, a disaster relief program the agency stood up this month to assist homeowners whose dwellings were destroyed or made uninhabitable by recent disasters.
Franklin said CalHFA announced the program on June 5 and opened applications on June 12. "As of Friday, we've had over 800 applications submitted. We also have over 800 applications saved," she told the board, adding that staff will follow up with homeowners who saved incomplete applications to offer assistance in completing them. Franklin said applications have come from the Altadena and Palisades fire areas and other disaster locations across the state, including flooding and winter storms.
Franklin described outreach efforts that included Spanish‑language interviews, media engagements with regional outlets and in‑person community assistance events in the Los Angeles area coordinated with Cal OES and community‑based organizations. She said the program web site (callusesmortgagefund.org) hosts toolkits and resources for applicants.
Franklin read a survey response from an applicant to illustrate program impact: "Thank you for providing this opportunity to my son and I. It's been very difficult financially providing after the Eaton fire," she said, attributing the text to an applicant on the program’s first day of applications. Franklin told the board CalHFA is working with partners in the governor’s office and the Department of Housing and Community Development to implement the program and praised the speed of set‑up: "This is government work at its fastest and finest," she said.
Board members asked about outreach, multilingual supports and community events; Franklin said staff and local partners will continue on‑the‑ground assistance and follow up with saved applicants to help complete submissions.
CalHFA staff said they launched the site and toolkit to support applicants and will refine intake and outreach as applications are processed.
