Mortgage refinance program helps Marion County residents impacted by pandemic

More Marion County households have been able to keep their homes through a mortgage refinancing program.

The program, run by nonprofit partner Renew Indianapolis, has invested more than $2.6 million to help 19 homeowners who fell behind on their mortgages because of the pandemic.

The Indy Affordable Modification Program, or IndyAMP, used funds allocated by the city and partnered with the Kephrw Institute. 

Renew Indianapolis CEO Steven Meyer said the program helped a variety of Indianapolis homeowners hit hard by the pandemic.

“They were really concerned because they had temporary loss of income because of the pandemic that they were going to lose this asset that had been in their family for generations,” Meyer said.

IndyAMP helps residents refinance mortgage debt — including late payments and fees — at a below-market interest rate for up to 30-years. The program is open to existing Marion County homeowners who owe between $20,000 and $200,000 on their home.

Residents saved an average of $170 on their monthly mortgage payment. 

The group pivoted to more mortgage refinancing efforts during the past year.  Renew Indianapolis usually does more mortgages for new homeowners and other affordable housing programs.

Meyer said the need for affordable housing solutions is ongoing.

“But we’ve had so much demand,” he said. “We're able to really focus more on the lower income homeowners and especially within the 12 or so zip codes that are especially hard hit from COVID.”

The group hopes to secure another $2 million for the program over the next year.

Contact WFYI city government and policy reporter Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @JillASheridan.