HHF Appeals and Review Processes - Ohio Housing Finance Agency

To: Housing Counseling Agencies
Subject: HHF Appeals and Review Processes
Bulletin Number: 2013-4
Issue Date: March 20, 2013
APPEAL PROCESS
Save the Dream Ohio clients who disagree with a decision made by OHFA’s underwriting team, may
appeal that decision following the appeals process described in this guidance. Only those files that
resulted in a decline or were terminated from assistance early, as described below, may be appealed.
Appeal Types
There are four different types of appeals:
1. Error: The homeowner believes a mistake was made by the underwriter that resulted in the
decline;
2. Policy Dispute: Appealing a decline because the homeowner disagrees with the guideline,
policy, or process that resulted in the decline; and
3. Change in Circumstances: Appealing a decline because the either OHFA’s guidelines have
changed or the homeowner’s situation has changed since the original decline such that the
homeowner would now be eligible.
4. End of Assistance: Appealing early termination, removal of payments, or demand for repayment
that occurred because the homeowner did not respond to a Hardship Verification Audit or a
MPA Certification and the homeowner wishes to provide the necessary documentation to reenroll
in SDO.
Requesting an Appeal
A homeowner may request an appeal by contacting their housing counselor. If the housing counselor
believes the request for appeal is reasonable, the counselor must complete the Appeal Request Form
located on the Ohio Housing Finance Agency website, gather supporting documents, if applicable, and
submit to their administrator for final review. Supporting documents include:
• Change in Circumstances –An updated paystub, mortgage statement, and if the file was
originally submitted to underwriting prior to February 1, 2013, a new hardship affidavit.
• End of Assistance –Documents required by the MPA Certification (verification of income and
MPA Certification Form) or Hardship Verification Audit.
All appeals must be reviewed for validity and submitted to OHFA by the housing counseling agency’s
HHF Administrator following the procedure below:
1. The administrator should submit the Appeal Form to hhfappeals@ohiohome.org.
2. The counselor or administrator should export any supporting documents to OHFA underwriting.
3. Finally, the counselor or administrator should update the communication log to explain that an
Appeal Request Form has been submitted to OHFA and the appropriate supporting documents
have been exported.

Timeline
Appeals for Error, Policy Dispute, or End of Assistance, must be filed within 60 days of the date the
homeowner was notified of decline or early termination. The homeowner will be notified via a Decline
Letter, an End of Assistance Letter, or a Hardship Verification Audit letter.
OHFA Appeal Consideration Process
Error – Once received, if the appeal is due to an Error, an underwriter who did not originally underwrite
the file will review within 30 days and issue a determination. If the new underwriter upholds the original
decision and the homeowner still disputes the decision, the homeowner may re-appeal that decision.
Upon re-appeal, the file will be reviewed by the HHF Governance Committee.
Change in Circumstances – Once received, if the appeal is due to a Change in Circumstances, an
underwriter will review within 30 days and issue a determination. If the underwriter upholds the original
decision and the homeowner still disputes the decision, the homeowner may re-appeal that decision.
Upon re-appeal, the file will be reviewed by the HHF Governance Committee.
Policy Dispute – If the appeal a Policy Dispute, the appeal will be reviewed and a determination issued
within 30 days by the HHF Governance Committee. However, if the determination requires an update to
the HHF Program Guidelines, it may be up to 90 days before the update is implemented.
End of Assistance – If the appeal is due early termination, removal of payments, or demand for
repayment that occurred because the homeowner did not respond to an MPA Certification, an
underwriter will review within 30 days and issue a determination. If the underwriter upholds the original
decision and the homeowner still disputes the decision, the homeowner may re-appeal that decision.
Upon re-appeal, the file will be reviewed by the HHF Governance Committee.
If the End of Assistance Appeal is due to the Hardship Verification Audit, HHF Compliance will review the
file within 30 days and issue a determination.
Final Appeal – If, for any type of appeal, the homeowner disputes the decision made by the Governance
Committee, the file will be reviewed by the OHFA HHF Appeal Committee. The decision made by the
OHFA HHF Appeal Committee is final and may not be appealed.
RE-REVIEW PROCESS
Save the Dream Ohio clients may request that their files be re-reviewed by OHFA’s underwriting team
following the re-review process described in this guidance.
Review Types
There are three different types of reviews:
1. Eligibility (Prior to 2/1/13): A homeowner may request that their file be reviewed for eligibility
if a file submitted to OHFA before 2/1/13 was previously withdrawn or became inactive.
2. Eligibility (After 2/1/13): A homeowner may request that their file be reviewed for eligibility if a
file submitted to OHFA on or after 2/1/13 was previously withdrawn or became inactive.
3. Additional Assistance: A homeowner who previously received assistance from Save the Dream
Ohio but is still struggling with a financial hardship and has funds remaining in their maximum

enefit amount, may request a review to determine whether he/she is eligible for additional
assistance.
4. Change in Income: Homeowners participating in the Mortgage Payment Assistance (MPA)
program are required to report any increase in income or change in employment circumstance
to OHFA. Reporting a change in income triggers a review to determine if a homeowner is still
eligible to participate in MPA.
5. Resubmission after Bankruptcy: A homeowner who received MPA prior to filing bankruptcy
may resume MPA following a bankruptcy discharge if it has been less than 180 days since the
bankruptcy was filed.
Requesting a Review
A homeowner may request a review by contacting their housing counselor. If the housing counselor
believes the request for review is reasonable or necessary, the counselor must send an email to
HHFReview@ohiohome.org, unless the file was submitted to OHFA underwriting prior to 2/1/13 and
was withdrawn or became inactive. Those files must be submitted by an HCA Administrator per the
guidance issued in Bulletin 2013-3.
The email to HHFReview@ohiohome.org must include the Review Request Form with the homeowner’s
name, client ID, reason for the review request (Eligibility, Additional Assistance, or Change in Income),
and confirmation that the appropriate documents have been exported to underwriting. If the request is
for an Eligibility or Additional Assistance Review, the counselor must export updated income
documentation, a mortgage statement, a utility bill, and, if applicable, a new application to OHFA
underwriting using the HHF Counselor Module. If the request is for a Change in Income Review, the
counselor must export updated income documentation and the Change in Income Review Form located
on the Ohio Housing Finance Agency website. If the request is for Resubmission after Bankruptcy, the
counselor should submit the discharge date, 30 days of income, and the Application to Resume SDO
Assistance Following Bankruptcy.
OHFA Review Process
Requests will be reviewed within 30 days of receipt, if all necessary documents have been uploaded to
the file. The review will be conducted by a designated underwriter or underwriters.