Collaboration Between Gere Tactical and ATTOM Helps Launch $50 Million Homeowner Assistance Program
When Alaska Housing Finance Corporation was charged with distributing millions of dollars in federal housing assistance to Alaskans financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it turned to Gere Tactical to lend a hand.
Gere Tactical, a communications and marketing agency specializing in secure digital technology infrastructure, already had a long-standing partnership with Alaska Housing and with ATTOM, whose real estate data were vital to its web-based solutions for homeowner assistance programs. This time, ATTOM’s real estate data was to play an integral role in ensuring that eligible homeowners received much-needed assistance as quickly as possible.
In March 2022, Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance was launched with an application process that drew nearly 12,000 households. Alaska Housing is now working with mortgage servicers across the country to review and verify information and has begun distribution of financial relief to Alaskan homeowners.
The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) is a $9.961 billion federal program to help households behind on their mortgages and other housing-related expenses due to the impacts of COVID-19. The U.S. Treasury Department oversees the HAF program, which has specific requirements for eligibility. Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance applicants were screened for eligibility using ATTOM, and the process expedited verification and served as a valuable tool for fraud prevention. Ultimately, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation was awarded $50 million to distribute to Alaskans in need.
Allison Capps, Director of Strategic Planning & Innovation for Gere Tactical, stated that “without ATTOM’s property data, the verification process would have involved a more work-intensive and time-consuming system for document submission and review. This would have placed unnecessary strain on the applicants, the employees performing the document review and verification, and on the technical team building the additional review functionality.”
“ATTOM allowed Alaska Housing to be nimble at a time when speed and accuracy were imperative. ATTOM provided the flexibility we required to access data when and how it was needed,” said Capps.
With ATTOM’s property data, Alaska Housing and Gere Tactical could customize the tools they were developing, share information easily and securely with third parties, and have the resources necessary to make timely, data-driven decisions to quickly help people when they needed it most.
“We were confident that we had the most accurate information available for every household requesting Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance,” said Capps. “The collaboration between Alaska Housing, Gere Tactical and ATTOM is ensuring that homeowners receive needed assistance quickly and accurately.”
