Friday, September 04, 2009

mortgages - HEMAP - reasonable prospect - speculative income

Smeal v. PHFA - Cmwlth. Court - August 5, 2009 - unreported memorandum decision

http://origin-www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Cwealth/out/2216CD08_8-5-09.pdf

The court upheld PHFA's decision that the applicant for HEMAP assistance from PHFA did not have a reasonable prospect of resuming full mortgage payments within the statutorily specified time -- in that case, 24 months.

The agency found that the applicant was "financially overextended" and that her expenses had exceeded her income for some time. Most pertinent, it found that her claims of future income from a personal business were "purely speculative" and did not establish the required "reasonable prospect" . The court thus approved of the agency's consideration of the applicant's "actual income history without considering...speculative income" that she claimed she would receive.