As a full-time student, physical therapist assistant and homeowner, Michelle was nearly overwhelmed.

Between rising tuition and a mortgage payment that had just increased, she was worried that a default was just around the corner. Decreasing property values left her in a position where she was unable to qualify for existing refinance programs.

Being proactive by nature, Michelle worked with a local nonprofit counselor to explore other potential options and learned about a principal reduction program being offered through Keep Your Home California. “I didn’t want to wait,” Michelle says. “I’d never been late on my mortgage payment because I knew it would just add more stress to my life. I knew I wanted to keep my home – walking away just wasn’t an option for me.”

After her over-the-phone counseling session with Keep Your Home California, Michelle was quickly qualified for a principal reduction of $50,000. Paying down her principal meant restructuring Michelle’s mortgage payment to a level she could easily afford. “I never had credit card debt,” says Michelle. “But I was living paycheck to paycheck. With both my school costs and mortgage payments increasing, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to continue to make ends meet.  Now I not only have a mortgage payment I can afford, I also have enough money to take some extra classes and get my degree sooner.”

Adding a principal reduction component to the Keep Your Home California suite of programs was a necessity according to California Housing Finance Agency executive director, Claudia Cappio. “Property values have decreased significantly in California, leaving many borrowers with so much negative equity they are not able to take advantage of the numerous refinance programs that are already available. The Principal Reduction Program was specifically created to help homeowners who are serious about living in their homes and creating longer term stability for their families by giving them an opportunity to qualify for a more sustainable modification. It certainly isn’t a panacea, but for a lot of families who don’t have any other options available to them, we believe this is a good and fair solution.”

It was certainly the answer Michelle Vera was looking for. “For me, this is a permanent solution to my mortgage problems.”

Retired teacher Alpha R. got a firsthand lesson on the sometimes fast-paced foreclosure process – and the home-saving help from Keep Your Home California.

When Alpha got behind on her mortgage payments and received a foreclosure notice from her mortgage servicer in early 2012, she needed quick action to save her home in Yucca Valley in the High Desert of Southern California.

“I bugged everybody; I even called my Congressman’s office,” says Alpha, who was raised in New York City but has also lived in Atlanta, Tucson, and Virginia.

Then, she came across a housing counseling agency that made her aware of Keep Your Home California. She quickly completed the documents in hopes of stopping the foreclosure.

“I was scrambling to put the paperwork together,” says Alpha, who was playing beat the clock with the mortgage servicer. “There was literally a man outside my gate one day (looking to purchase the property).”

She applied for Keep Your Home California’s Mortgage Reinstatement Assistance Program, which offers as much as $25,000 to help hard-hit homeowners catch up on their payments. Alpha received $20,000 from the state-run program, enough money to get her back on track.

“It was tough, but it was doable,” Alpha says of the paperwork needed for the program. “Keep Your Home California was very smooth, very efficient.”

Now, Alpha can focus on a new project. She has opened a healing facility that encourages others to eat healthier and meditate.

“This is my purpose,” says the retired public school teacher for emotionally challenged students. “I still have things to do up here.”

With financial assistance from Keep Your Home California program, Alpha can turn her attention toward helping others.

“It was the best program I’ve ever run into,” says Alpha, who tells friends about the free, federally funded program. “There is something positive out there. You don’t have to give up.”

Longtime mortgage professional Laurie C. entered the fast-paced business because she “likes helping people.”

Now, Laurie – who has enjoyed a 20-year career in the home lending industry but has endured three recessions along the way – is getting a helping hand from Keep Your Home California.

Like many homeowners in California, Laurie has become a casualty of the dismal economy and the hard-hit housing market. She has been “in and out of work” for the past five years, as the housing market struggles through one of its worst downturns.

She was most recently laid off July 1, and soon after applied for Keep Your Home California’s Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program. The state-run program helps out-of-work homeowners with their payments, up to a maximum of $3,000 per month for six months.

“I tried to do a modification … but they gave me the runaround for a year,” Laurie says. The Keep Your Home Program was different. “They had me qualified and eligible in 10 days.”

The mortgage servicer, which must participate in the program, approved the payment plan for Laurie a week later.

Keep Your Home California – established with $2 billion in federal funds through the U.S. Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund® – started making her monthly $750 mortgage payment in September, and will continue through February, Laurie says.

“I don’t know what I’d be doing” without the mortgage assistance, says Laurie, who lives in a condominium in Roseville, about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento. “I totally believe in this program.”

Laurie often educates other financially strapped homeowners about the Keep Your Home California and how the program has helped her save her home.

“I’m out there selling it,” Laurie says. “I’m a true believer that things happen for a reason.”

Homeowner Audrey M. was committed to keeping her home – and finding a full-time position.

She accomplished both with the help of Keep Your Home California.

“It’s my home; I love it,” says Audrey, who bought her Elk Grove house 10 years ago. “I didn’t want to lose it, and I didn’t want to rent it out.”

Audrey applied for Keep Your Home California in March, but was first denied since she cashed-out when she refinanced her home. A few months later, a counselor called Audrey and told her to apply again since some guidelines had changed.

“It happened very fast,” Audrey says of the application process. “It was very clear, very easy to understand.”

Of course, Audrey, who was out of work for 20 months, says her three-decade career in the banking industry likely helped her speed along the application process. But she adds most homeowners could complete the application and tackle the paperwork with little trouble.

After sending some documents and writing a hardship letter, Audrey was approved for the program, allowing her to focus on the all-important job search in one of the hardest-hit industries in the state.

Keep Your Home California made her monthly mortgage payments for five months – July through November. Her sixth, and final, mortgage payment from the state program was never sent.

And Audrey couldn’t have been happier – she found a job in nearby Roseville.

“It’s a great program,” said Audrey, who started her new banking position in November.

Audrey, like many program recipients, touts Keep Your Home California to friends facing difficult times who are also looking for work.

“I wish more people would learn about the program,” she says.

Debra says homeowners shouldn’t delay and apply for the program as soon as possible.

Debra T. has a bit of advice for cash-strapped homeowners considering the Keep Your Home California program – don’t delay and call today.

“I kept putting it off,” says Debra, who kept hearing Keep Your Home California commercials on radio station KFRG (better-known as “KFROG” in Southern California). “I didn’t want to hear the word ‘no.’ ”

Eventually, Debra applied for the federally funded, state-run mortgage program early last year and was approved in May 2012. She was approved for $100,000 in principal reduction, the maximum under the Principal Reduction Program.

A servicer-approved loan modification coupled with the Keep Your Home California Principal Reduction Program dropped her principal from $280,000 to $138,000.

“I was so ecstatic.” says Debra, who lives in Bloomington in San Bernardino County. “I’m so thankful that this type of program was available.”

Debra definitely fits the requirements for help from the $2 billion program, established under the Hardest Hit Fund. Her husband died after a long battle with cancer in 2008. He didn’t have life insurance and even with health insurance, the medical bills took their financial toll.

“My biggest fear was losing the house,” says Debra, who has three children at home and her mother living with them as well. “It’s a small house and it’s a little cramped, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She suspects her experience with her mortgage servicer is probably similar to many other homeowners, who are struggling to keep their homes.

“It’s really frustrating to a lot of homeowners,” she says. “I’m sure a lot of homeowners lost their homes because servicers dragged their feet or they were just overwhelmed (with the number of homes and homeowners in trouble).”

But her experience with Keep Your Home California was much better.

“I was really pleased with the response from Keep Your Home California,” Debra says. Her counselor “was very helpful.”

So, Debra strongly encourages homeowners to learn more about the program and apply for the free mortgage help as soon as possible.

“I recommend the program to anyone who is struggling,” she says. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”