If you are a Mississippi homeowner falling behind on your mortgage, the state’s main option is the MS Home Saver Plus Program, which offers grants of up to $50,000 to homeowners whose finances were hit by the pandemic. Alongside that grant, federal rules give every borrower a buffer before foreclosure can begin, and your loan servicer is required to evaluate you for loss mitigation options like forbearance, a partial claim, or a permanent loan modification. Mississippi mortgage assistance programs work best when you use them together and start early.
MS Home Saver Plus: The State Grant Program
MS Home Saver Plus is Mississippi’s version of the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund, administered by the Mississippi Home Corporation.1Mississippi Home Corporation. Mississippi Home Saver Plus Program The money is a grant, not a loan, so you never repay it. Funds are sent directly to your mortgage servicer or the taxing authority, not to you.
The maximum award is $50,000 per household, and it can be used for three purposes:
- Mortgage reinstatement — paying off the full past-due balance to bring a delinquent loan current. This is the most common use.
- Monthly mortgage payments for up to six months while you stabilize your finances.
- Delinquent property taxes, to head off a tax lien or tax sale.
The federal HAF rules also permit states to fund utility and insurance help, but Mississippi’s direct payments focus on mortgage and property tax obligations.2U.S. Department of the Treasury. Homeowner Assistance Fund Guidance The program draws from a fixed pool of federal money, so check mshomesaver.com to confirm applications are still being accepted before you invest time gathering documents.
Who Qualifies
Four requirements decide eligibility: residency, occupancy, income, and hardship.
- The property has to be in Mississippi and has to be your primary residence. Investment properties and second homes do not qualify.
- You must show a financial hardship that occurred after January 21, 2020, such as job loss, reduced hours, or higher healthcare costs tied to the pandemic.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Get Homeowner Assistance Fund Help
- Total household income must be at or below 100% of the Area Median Income for your county and household size. You can look up your county’s limit using the HUD income limits tool at huduser.gov.
Mississippi’s 100% AMI cap is tighter than the 150% AMI ceiling some other states use, so if your income is near the line, document it carefully. The program counts every household member’s earnings, not just those of the borrower on the mortgage.
How to Apply
Applications go through the online portal at mshomesaver.com. Before you start, pull together:4Mississippi Home Corporation. Required Documents
- A Mississippi driver’s license.
- Income verification for every household member: current paystubs if employed, a year-to-date profit and loss statement if self-employed, or a benefit statement from MDES, Social Security, or a pension if you are unemployed or retired.
- Your current mortgage statement, plus one ownership document such as a deed of trust or warranty deed.
- A recent utility bill showing both your service address and mailing address.
- A signed hardship attestation describing how the pandemic affected your finances. A template is available on the program website.
- A property tax notice, if you are requesting help with delinquent taxes.
Once submitted, an application moves through eligibility screening, then underwriter review, then servicer validation, where your mortgage company confirms the delinquency amount and agrees to accept HAF funds. That last step can take weeks. Monitor the portal and respond to document requests immediately, because ignoring a request for even a few days can result in your application being withdrawn.
If you have already received HAF funds, are still in hardship, and now face foreclosure, the program allows an additional funding request. You will need a foreclosure sale date letter, a current mortgage statement, a recent utility bill, and a new hardship attestation.
If Your Application Is Denied
You have 10 days from the date of the denial to file an appeal. Miss that window and the appeal is automatically denied.5Mississippi Home Corporation. Mississippi HAF Appeal Policy and Form Your appeal has to include the completed appeal form plus any new evidence or corrected documents that address the reason for denial. Appeals cannot be used to resubmit an entirely new application, and appeals that challenge the program’s federal eligibility rules are denied automatically.
Send the appeal by email to haf.mpa@mshc.com or by mail to Mississippi Home Corporation, ATTN: Mississippi HAF Program, 735 Riverside Dr., Jackson, MS 39202. Mailed appeals must be postmarked within the 10-day window. The program aims to respond within 30 business days, and that decision is final.
Loss Mitigation Through Your Servicer
Not every homeowner qualifies for a HAF grant, and $50,000 will not always cover the gap. Whether or not you receive HAF funds, your servicer is required to evaluate you for loss mitigation when you fall behind. The specific options depend on your loan type.
FHA Loans
If your mortgage is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, several tools can keep you in your home:6U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA Loss Mitigation Program
- A repayment plan spreads your past-due amount across future monthly payments so you catch up gradually.
- Forbearance temporarily pauses or reduces your payments while you recover, with repayment worked out afterward.
- A standalone partial claim moves the past-due balance into a separate, interest-free lien that you do not repay until you sell, refinance, or make your final mortgage payment.
- A loan modification permanently changes your loan terms, typically adding the past-due amount to the principal and extending the repayment period at a fixed rate.
- A payment supplement uses a partial claim to resolve missed payments and temporarily reduces your monthly payment for three years.
FHA borrowers can only receive one permanent loss mitigation option within any 24-month period, unless a presidentially declared major disaster applies. Your servicer may also require you to complete a two- or three-month trial payment plan before finalizing any permanent change.
USDA and Conventional Loans
USDA-guaranteed loans offer a similar menu, including informal forbearance, special forbearance with provisions for unemployment, and loan modifications. Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac also have forbearance and modification programs. The specifics depend on your loan’s guarantee status and current situation, so call your servicer, explain what happened, and ask to be evaluated for loss mitigation. Do this early. Homeowners who wait until a foreclosure notice arrives find the options narrower and the timeline tighter.
Federal Rules That Buy You Time
Even after you miss a payment, federal rules keep your servicer from moving to foreclosure right away. Under Regulation X, a servicer cannot file the first foreclosure notice until your loan is more than 120 days delinquent.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Loss Mitigation Procedures – Regulation X That four-month window is when you should be applying for HAF and talking to your servicer about loss mitigation.
The protection gets stronger if you submit a complete loss mitigation application. If it lands before the servicer files for foreclosure, the servicer cannot proceed with the filing until it finishes evaluating you, you reject the options offered, or you fail to perform under an agreed plan. Even if foreclosure has already been filed, submitting a complete application more than 37 days before a scheduled sale halts the sale until the review plays out. The key word is “complete.” A partial submission does not trigger these protections, so respond to every document request from your servicer immediately.
Why Mississippi Foreclosure Makes Early Action Essential
Mississippi uses non-judicial foreclosure, meaning the lender does not have to go to court. Once the process starts, it moves fast. The lender appoints a substitute trustee, records a notice of sale, and publishes that notice in a county newspaper for three consecutive weeks, with a notice also posted at the courthouse. The sale occurs on or shortly after the final publication date.8Justia Law. Mississippi Code 89-1-55 – How Lands Sold Under Mortgages and Deeds of Trust From trustee appointment to sale date, the whole thing can run 25 to 31 days.
Mississippi also has no right of redemption after a foreclosure sale. Once the auction happens, you cannot buy the property back. That is why the assistance and loss mitigation options above have to be used well before a sale date is set, not after.
Free Help From a HUD-Approved Counselor
Free or low-cost guidance is available through HUD-approved housing counseling agencies across Mississippi. A counselor can help you build a budget, review loss mitigation options, communicate with your servicer, and work through the HAF application process. This is particularly useful if your HAF application was denied or your servicer is not responding to your loss mitigation request.9U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Counseling
To find a counselor, use the HUD counselor locator online or call the national referral line at 800-569-4287 (TTY: 202-708-1455), open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.10HUD Exchange. Find a Housing Counselor Servicers tend to take loss mitigation requests more seriously when a certified counselor is involved, and having someone experienced on your side makes it less likely that paperwork slips through the cracks.