What Covid-19 Rental Assistance is Available in 2021?
The US government is using its disaster relief fund to offer assistance to those that have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. The first stimulus check came from this fund, and the second stimulus was just announced. However, the amount of the stimulus is not going to be enough to catch up on multiple months of rent, backed payments on utilities, or even to fill your fridge more than a couple of times. So what other options or rent relief programs will be out there if the pandemic carries on into 2021 and many employers out there are folding or laying off employees? As the new administration enters the White House, the first item on their agenda is a plan to distribute a coronavirus vaccine. After the vaccine is when experts expect President-elect Joe Biden to turn his focus on the economy, and the decision of whether or not to send out a second round of stimulus checks. What happens after that?
NEWS ALERT: Rental Assistance for 2021 (NOW AVAILABLE)
Golden Financial Services does not offer rental assistance, but you do have options if your income was adversely affected due to COVID-19 and you can’t afford to pay your rent in 2021. The State Senate on Monday passed a special bill to address the need for rental assistance but you must have a financial hardship. Both the Senate and State Assembly agreed on an eviction moratorium that will extend until May 1st, 2021. This new bill will also benefit homeowners and small landlords that own ten or fewer units, protecting them from foreclosure and tax lien sales. Financial hardship could include: lost income, increased medical expenses, increased child care, and family care costs, unable to obtain meaningful employment, can’t afford moving costs. … Or those with a household member in a high-risk category for COVID. According to Governor Cuomo; “We want to protect tenants, make it simple, we don’t want people evicted, we don’t want them to have to go to court to fight the eviction, but we also want to avoid fraud and don’t want people making false representations.” The bill also protects your credit rating. If you fell behind on payments, your credit report won’t be negatively affected.
Credit card debt relief is not included in this new stimulus bill, but there are options available here at Golden Financial Services.
WATCH VIDEO:
Do you owe $10,000 or more in unsecured debt? Here are three debt forgiveness programs that may help.
What COVID-19 Assistance to Expect from Credit Card Companies in 2021?
What Happens with Backed Rent if the COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium is Lifted?
What to Do About Backed Rent Due to COVID-19?
Resources:
Forms and applications for govt assistance
What to do if you can’t pay your rent
19 million Americans are at risk after Dec 31
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Here are 10 FREE RESOURCES for Credit Card Debt Help
Compare the 4 Best Credit Card Debt Relief Programs for 2021
Video Transcription:
Todd: Hello Everyone I’m Todd Boldizsar, financial news analyst, and welcome back to the Golden Financial Services channel, where we periodically drop financial tips, tricks, and info you can’t find anywhere else. If you’re struggling with credit card debt, the experts at Golden Financial are here to help! Speaking of experts, I’m joined today by Paul Paquin, founder of GFS. Paul, it’s good to see you, buddy, what’s new?
Paul: Hi Todd I’m doing well (personal details about your life here).
Todd: Excellent to hear Paul. The current COVID financial climate is actually what we’re chatting about today. It’s mid-December and time is running out before the current moratorium banning evictions is lifted. From what I recently read, as many as 19 million Americans could be facing eviction the moment the ball drops and the calendar turns over to 2021. On top of that, it can be extremely stressful trying to Google search your options if you have never been in a situation where you are facing backed rent payments and eviction.
- Is Government Assistance available after December 31? How should someone prioritize bills in order to make rent payments?
Todd: Well guess what – we’re here to help you sort it all out! Paul, let’s start with what happens after December 31 – is there a place where renters can apply for assistance from the government?
Paul: There are rental programs inside The HEROES Act and the “Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act, that the House of Representatives has already passed but the senate has not. THIS RELIEF INCLUDES $100 BILLION IN FUNDING. So at this point people are urged to contact your senators and demand rental relief get passed now! We will provide the information in the description section of this video.
https://nlihc.org/resource/covid-19-rental-assistance-programs
Of course, I always recommend that you contact your landlords and creditors directly and explain your hardship and ask for help, due to Covid-19. Most landlords are inclined to work with their tenants. It can’t hurt to call your tenant, mortgage company, credit card company, and creditors, explain your hardship and how you were affected by Covid-19.
Also since we’re talking government relief, federal student loan relief has just been extended at least another month of no payments or interest.
- If your landlord won’t work with you on rent and demands payment now, what are the options to make rent?
Paul: START WITH BUDGET: With any of your creditors if you can’t afford to pay them the first step is always the same, you have to figure out where all your money is going, and exactly what’s coming in including all sources. You need to get a clear visual of your income, savings, and expenses in one place. That one place is a budget. Every financial plan starts with a budget. You will then need to scan through your budget and find areas that you can reduce expenses. Maybe you’ll need to cancel your $100 TV cable subscription and just use Netflix and free YouTube news channels for under $20 per month, saving right there $80 dollars per month. Maybe you’ll need to eliminate all of those Amazon purchases averaging $50 per month. Now you’ve freed up $150 per month by eliminating and reducing just two expenses. Over 7500 in credit cards can get reduced through GFS programs, giving you extra cash flow by reducing your credit card bills on your budget. Reduce and eliminate what you can on your budget to increase cash flow.
If you’re to the point where you can’t even pay your rent you’re going to really have to focus on debt reduction. For example, if you are paying only minimum payments on credit cards, and your credit card companies are not willing to pause the payments interest-free any longer, we have programs available at Golden Financial Services to help lower credit card bills in order to free up money that can be put towards paying your rent. Prioritize your debts in order. Then focus on debts that can be reduced, and paused interest-free.
Click here for a free guide to consolidating student loans and getting a zero dollar payment.
- Will credit card companies provide further assistance to help manage payments?
Paul: When it comes to credit card payments you only want to pause payments IF A) it’s interest-free and B) if the credit card company isn’t expecting you to double up on payments in the future. Contact your credit card company directly. Forbearance options that are interest-free meaning the interest isn’t getting capitalized to the back of the loan, are Good options to take advantage of. We will provide a link in the description for a webpage that illustrates options that each individual creditor is offering.
Steps to pay off credit card balances.
Make a budget.
Cut expenses to increase cash flow.
Use the increased cash flow to pay off your smallest balance first while paying minimum payments on the rest, or if you owe 7500 or more in credit card debt, seek a debt relief program through GFS at 866-376-9846. Click here for a Free Debt Snowball Calculator Tool.
- What to do if you are served an eviction notice and timetable?
You have rights, so don’t leave … It is illegal for a landlord to kick you out … formal legal proceedings, like giving you an eviction notice to appear in court where you’ll get to state your case to a judge before you are evicted. The House of Representatives passed the emergency rent and mortgage relief bill that includes extended eviction protection.. as well AS 100 billion in emergency rental relief, so get on your senators to pass this rental relief … 211, a non-profit organization, will provide housing vouchers for people who are evicted and for the most part and they will also place people in a temp home so they can get on their feet.
If you are approved for one of our programs to help with your unsecured debt, again that requires $7500 in or more in debt like medical bills, credit card debt, collections and most accounts will qualify, while on the program you will be introduced to a third-party law firm that you can consult with about the eviction notice.
And let me just finish this off with the point I made above prioritize your debts. For example, your rent is where you live, that’s your family‘s well-being, But credit card debt can be put in a program right through Golden Financial and reduced through multiple programs, so start with the budget to try to free up cash that can be used to pay your rent.
