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Witnesses urge timeline fixes and local funding lifeline for HPAP and foreclosure prevention
Summary
Public witnesses and advocates told the Committee on Housing that HPAP delays and the end of key federal relief programs have left homeowners and buyers at risk, and urged enforceable service levels, lender escalations and local funding for programs such as REMIT.
Multiple witnesses at the March 5 performance oversight hearing told the Committee on Housing that processing delays in the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) are causing applicants to lose contracts and that foreclosure‑prevention supports are insufficient now that federal programs have ended. Deborah Cuevas Hill of Legal Counsel for the Elderly said LCE represented 107 clients in FY25 and returned more than $12,000,000 in benefits to clients; she urged the committee to plan immediate funding for the REMIT program, which provides up to $40,000 in 0% deferred loans for seniors facing reverse‑mortgage foreclosure.
Commissioner Trippity Jay Patel and others outlined operational fixes they want to see in HPAP: enforceable service‑level timelines, public reporting of median processing times, lender‑facing escalation for at‑risk transactions, and a caseworker / tracking mechanism so applications do not lapse without notice. DCHFA and DHCD officials acknowledged market slowdowns and complexity but said they are working on process and technology improvements; DHCD said HPAP applicants who have an NOE and signed contract had funds reserved and that average closing times reported recently were shorter in many instances.
Quote: "Applicants experience long and unpredictable processing times, repeated documentation requests, inconsistent communication, and approval delays that routinely cause buyers to miss contract deadlines or lose homes entirely," Commissioner Trippity Jay Patel testified.
The committee asked DHCD to follow up with specifics on whether tax returns can be used for employment verification in HPAP, to report real‑time dashboard availability and to provide a plan for a locally sustained foreclosure prevention program.
