Lendistry Home Loans Launches Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot for Homeowners Displaced by 2025 LA Wildfires

LOS ANGELES, August 11, 2026 (Newswire.com) - Today, Lendistry Home Loans announced the launch of its Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot. This community-led solution has been crafted specifically to support homeowners displaced by the 2025 Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires and overcome challenges that have stagnated the rebuilding process for many. This pilot will allow more homeowners to rebuild sooner because of its lower liquidity requirements and greater flexibility in cashflow underwriting standards.

The Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot is supported with a seed capital commitment of $15 million from Bank of America and $5 million from the California Community Foundation.

Lendistry Home Loans is announcing this program in advance of applications opening to allow equitable opportunity for homeowners to prepare to apply. Homeowners should visit www.disasterrecoverymortgage.com to learn more about the Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot, sign up to receive updates about the application window, and find out what they will need.

Homeowners not yet ready to take on financing are encouraged to visit The Center by Lendistry's LA Rebuild Hub (www.larebuildhub.org). The Hub provides step-by-step guidance and resources to help homeowners navigate insurance, permitting, and rebuilding decisions so they can move forward with confidence when they are ready.

"Large-scale disasters demand large-scale collaboration and innovative thinking from institutions with the means to step up," says Everett K. Sands, CEO of Lendistry Home Loans. "There will always be opportunities and setbacks that we can't see coming, but together we are better equipped to support our communities in good times and bad times. Lendistry Home Loans is proud to offer the Disaster Recovery Mortgage and work with organizations that share our vision of a more abundant, resilient future."

The program launch follows California Governor Gavin Newsom's signing of the 2026-27 state budget, which established the $100-million Disaster Rebuilding Assistance Program for loan-loss guarantees and reduced interest rates for impacted homeowners. This innovative solution helps lenders mitigate risk while providing responsible financing to affected communities.

"Through California's upcoming Disaster Rebuilding Assistance Program, the state is making a significant investment to ensure the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires have the resources they need to rebuild their homes and their lives in a way they can afford," said Tomiquia Moss, Secretary of the California Housing and Homelessness Agency. "The Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot offers a key opportunity for both financial relief and wildfire resiliency for impacted homeowners, one that builds on California's efforts and showcases the power of public-private partnerships."

The Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot includes a construction lending product designed to fill financing gaps, kickstart rebuilding ahead of potential insurance or settlement payouts, and support revenue-generating duplex, triplex and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) properties alongside the primary residence. Qualified homes will need to be built to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Wildfire Prepared HomePlus standards to increase future resiliency.

"Wildfire resilience shouldn't be a luxury-it should be within reach for every family," says Michael Newman, managing director, partnerships & general counsel, IBHS. "The Wildfire Prepared Home standard gives homeowners a clear, science-based path to reduce risk through smarter design and construction. The Disaster Recovery Mortgage shows what's possible when lenders and resilience leaders work together, helping families rebuild stronger, reduce future losses, and protect the homes and lives they've worked so hard to build."

"Last year's wildfires displaced thousands of Angelenos and impacted countless lives," says Raul Anaya, president, Bank of America Los Angeles. "While Bank of America developed a Rebuild Solution to help our existing mortgage clients rebuild their homes after the L.A. fires with extended forbearance, a line of credit and preserving their original lower interest rate, we knew more needed to be done for other homeowners. That's why we're working with CDFIs like Lendistry to structure and disperse additional capital to help more Angelenos rebuild their homes."

"Recovery means ensuring families have a pathway to return home and rebuild their future," said Miguel Santana, President & CEO of CCF. "Through the Los Angeles Wildfire Rebuilding and Renewal Fund, CCF is investing in solutions that address the real barriers communities face after a disaster. This partnership with Lendistry Home Loans and Bank of America demonstrates how philanthropy, lenders, and nonprofit institutions can work together to help families access the capital they need to rebuild and remain rooted in the communities they call home. "

According to a survey of more than 2,300 fire-impacted residents, most families remain displaced as the costs of temporary housing and rebuilding continue to rise. The Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot was developed alongside FORGE LA, a collaborative initiative to identify financial gaps in disaster recovery led by Lendistry's strategic nonprofit partner, The Center by Lendistry. The pilot powered by an innovative financial structure tailored to community members who risk loss of homeownership and may not be able to access construction loan products. Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot participants must meet ability-to-repay requirements set in law.

Loan applications for the Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot will be available in early fall of 2026, as Lendistry Home Loans continues to raise capital from private, philanthropic, and public sources to expand the program beyond its limited initial pilot phase.

About Lendistry Home Loans

Lendistry Home Loans, LLC (lendistryhomeloans.com) is a community-driven residential mortgage company and a fully-owned subsidiary of Lendistry, a tech-enabled small business lender. Licensed in multiple states including California, LHL draws on Lendistry's experience providing responsible, innovative financing to undercapitalized communities and its mission to provide economic opportunities and financial education. Lendistry Home Loans understands the power of home ownership for this and future generations and is committed to making the home loan process accessible, affordable, and approachable for all clients. (NMLS #2453988; California Residential Mortgage Lending Act License No. 41DFPI-213561; California Finance Law License No. 60DBO-178798)

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 69 million clients with approximately 3,500 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 60 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. As the #1 small business lender in the United States (FDIC), Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries and/or jurisdictions. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About the California Community Foundation

For more than 110 years, the California Community Foundation (CCF) has worked alongside donors, nonprofits and community partners to build a more just and resilient Los Angeles County. With more than $2.3 billion in assets, CCF responds swiftly when communities are in crisis - from wildfires to immigration to public health emergencies - while investing in long-term solutions across the region. Overseeing 1,900 charitable foundations, funds and legacies, CCF's mission is to invest in, partner with and amplify the power of community toward a good life.

About the Los Angeles Wildfire Rebuilding and Renewal Fund (LAWRRF)

Los Angeles Wildfire Rebuilding and Renewal Fund, a public-private recovery initiative designed to help families and communities move from emergency response to long-term rebuilding. The Fund combines philanthropic capital, flexible financing, and cross-sector partnerships to support housing recovery, community stabilization, and resilient rebuilding efforts across fire-impacted neighborhoods.

Press contact: Teddy Lake, [email protected]

SOURCE: Lendistry

Source: Lendistry