Sometimes being a pack rat pays off. Just ask Curtis H.

Curtis received some information about Keep Your Home California almost a year ago.

‘I didn’t even read it at the time,” says Curtis, who tucked away the information though he doesn’t really know why. “I guess I’m kind of a pack rat.”

Several months – and a divorce – later, the information proved valuable. It’s been the difference between losing and keeping his home in Lincoln, about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento.

“I knew it was too much money alone,” says Curtis, who lost his former wife’s income and was forced to make the mortgage payment alone. “I took over all of the bills, and I wasn’t able to afford all my payments.

“I had absolutely no cash,” says Curtis, a construction industry worker. “If I had the car break down, it would have to be on the VISA (card).”

Curtis applied for the principal reduction program in June, hoping to cut his monthly mortgage payment and the money owed on his new home.

“It was easy, it really blew me away,” says Curtis, who adds the biggest challenge was writing the hardship letter, detailing his financial challenges. But after a quick search online, he found a few hardship letters that served as his guide. “The paperwork was easy.”

Curtis says the determination is well worth the effort. Keep Your Home California approved his principal reduction application this summer, saving him about $132 per month.

“It doesn’t sound like a substantial amount, but it was enough money,” Curtis says. “I won a raffle, a prize.”

The state-run program also dropped his principal from $230,000 to $209,000.

“Technically, I got a lot more than $21,000” in principal reduction, says Curtis, who crunched the numbers and figures his overall savings during the lifetime of his mortgage was much higher. “It’s a huge difference. It was a miracle.”

Homeowner David S. has battled a bad economy, the hard-hit housing market and a gloomy jobs outlook – just like many Californians.

But David, who has owned his condominium in the Park Mesa neighborhood in San Diego for 10 years, is committed to keeping his home and finding a job, even in a new profession.

He applied for a loan modification through his mortgage lender, with no luck after an exhausting and lengthy effort. He made larger-than-required payments for a few months to lower the mortgage principal and show his dedication to homeownership. And even during the most difficult months financially, David made at least half of the monthly mortgage payment.

Still, the long-term unemployed professional was facing the grim reality of losing his condo.

Then, David applied for Keep Your Home California in mid-April. His commitment and attention to detail – he has three, 3-inch thick binders of financial and mortgage-related paperwork – paid off in June when he was approved for the state-run mortgage assistance program.

Keep Your Home California, funded by the federal government’s Hardest Hit Fund®, made his mortgage payments in July, August and September, and will likely continue through the end of the year.

“I’m very grateful for the program,” David says. His application was a bit more complicated than most, especially since he had a commission-only job for a brief period that created a hiccup with the state Employment Development Department and much slower-than-average processing by his mortgage servicer.

But the end result was well worth the effort and allows him to concentrate on finding a job – and possibly a new career.

“They’re trying to find you suitable time to find employment,” says David, a former director of sales and senior associate for an audio visual company. “I don’t have to worry about the risk of losing my home while looking for employment.”

David encourages other out-of-work homeowners to look into the Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program, which has about $875 million in funding. Keep Your Home California expects to help about 60,500 homeowners with the program, with average funding of $14,455.

“It’s a horrible … terrible feeling” to face the possibility of losing your home, David says. “Time is what this program has given me.”

“I think everybody is trying to figure out what is next” with the economy and the housing market, he says. “When there is a happy ending, this program will be what saved me.”

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.”

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.”

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.