Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will provide several mortgage assistance options for those home owners affected by Hurricane Matthew in the Atlantic coastal areas. Options include forbearance for up to Twelve months or mortgage modifications.
Mortgage Assistance Given to Hurricane Affected Homeowners
Freddie Mac’s disaster relief options is going to be accessible to borrowers whose homes may be found in declared Major Disaster Areas, in which federal individual assistance programs are being made available to help affected households. A list of these areas can be obtained at https://www.fema.gov/disasters
“We strongly encourage the many American families whose homes or businesses are being impacted by Hurricane Matthew to call their mortgage servicer once the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s declaration is announced,” says Yvette Gilmore, Freddie Mac’s vice president of single-family servicer performance management. “Relief — including forbearance on mortgage payments for up to one year — may be available if their mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac.”
Freddie Mac’s mortgage relief options include:
Suspending foreclosures by offering forbearance for up to Twelve months;
Waiving assessments of penalties or late charges against borrowers with damaged homes in the hurricane;
Not reporting forbearance or delinquencies prompted by the hurricane to the credit reporting agencies.
Similarly, Fannie Mae is offering forbearance to any borrowers affected by the hurricane and delaying impacted foreclosures sales. Affected home owners may temporarily suspend or reduce their mortgage payments for as much as 90 days, under Fannie Mae’s guidelines. Lenders may also grant forbearance for as much as 6 months thereafter and extend that by yet another 6 months, as needed.