I hope everyone is staying safe during this difficult and very unnerving time. As we continue to figure out our futures we are still here for counseling that we can do virtually either through SKYPE or other platforms.

What this disaster means for your Mortgage Loan:

Guide to coronavirus mortgage relief
options

MAR 31, 2020

If you’re among those financially impacted by
the coronavirus pandemic, you might be concerned about how to pay your mortgage
or rent. Federal and state governments have announced plans to help struggling
homeowners during this time. Read this to get information on what to do now,
and what your options are for mortgage and rental relief.

Important
things to know first

For many homeowners with mortgages, there’s help, but
first assess your situation.

If
you can pay your mortgage, pay your mortgage.

Don’t call your mortgage servicer if you aren’t facing an
immediate issue. Mortgage servicers are getting a lot of calls and need to
first help those who won’t be able to pay their mortgage. Check their website
first for possible options.

If
you can’t pay your mortgage, or can only pay a portion,
contact your mortgage servicer immediately.

You may need to stay on the phone for a while before the
servicer is able to take your call. Loan servicers are also impacted by the
pandemic, so may be working with staffing and technology limitations. Please be
sure to read this blog carefully so you are prepared for this conversation.

A new federal law, the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, puts in place two
protections for homeowners with federally backed mortgages:

1. A foreclosure
   moratorium
2. A right to
   forbearance for homeowners who are experiencing a financial hardship due to the
   COVID-19 emergency

If you don’t have a
federally backed mortgage, you still may have relief options through your
mortgage servicer or from your state.

Keep reading as we’ll
first explain what the different options mean. Then we’ll explain how you can
figure out if your lender or servicer can offer you any of the forms of
assistance available.

This blog includes
information to help you understand:

• What are the
  major mortgage relief options?
• Which options do
  you qualify for?
• How to get
  mortgage relief
• What to do once
  you are receiving mortgage relief
• Watch out for
  scams
• Protections for
  renters
• Where to get more
  help

Major
mortgage relief options during the coronavirus pandemic

Mortgage forbearance

Forbearance is when your
mortgage servicer or lender allows you to pause or reduce your mortgage
payments for a limited period of time. Forbearance doesn’t erase what you owe –
you’ll have to repay any missed or reduced payments in the future. If your
income is restored, reach out to your servicer and resume making payments as
soon as you can.

Depending on the kind of
loan you have, there may be different forbearance options. If this option is
available to you, read our guide to help
you make the best decision based on your situation.

Moratoriums suspend or stop foreclosure

Foreclosure is when the lender takes back the property after
the homeowner fails to make required payments on a mortgage. Foreclosure
processes differ by state.

Keep reading for
specific information on forbearance and moratoriums under the CARES Act.

What
options do you qualify for?

Your mortgage relief
options depend on who owns or backs your mortgage. Here we’ll explain how to
find out what you qualify for.

First, figure out who services your mortgage. This is who
you need to contact.

HOW
TO REQUEST FORBEARANCE OR OTHER MORTGAGE RELIEF

Call your servicer.

You may need to stay on
the phone for a while before the servicer is able to take your call.

Loan servicers are
experiencing a high call volume and are also impacted by the pandemic, so may
be working with staffing and technology limitations.

Have your account number
handy.

Click here for
questions to ask and information to have ready for your call.

Your mortgage servicer is
the company that you send your mortgage payments to each month.

If you don’t know or
can’t remember who currently services your mortgage, there are several ways to
find out, including looking at your mortgage statement for contact information.

Click here to find out who owns
or services your mortgage.

Second, figure out if your mortgage is federally backed.

To be eligible for
protections under the CARES Act your mortgage must be federally owned or
otherwise backed by one of the federal agencies and entities listed below. If
you don’t know who owns or backs your mortgage, you can call your servicer. The
servicer has an obligation to provide you, to the best of its knowledge, the
name, address, and telephone number of who owns your loan.

List of federal
agencies and entities

• U.S. Department of
  Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 
• U. S. Department of Agriculture 
  • USDA Direct 
  • USDA Guaranteed 
• Federal Housing
  Administration (FHA) (Includes reverse mortgages) 
• U.S. Department of
  Veterans Affairs (VA) 
• Fannie Mae 
• Freddie Mac 

Nearly half of the
nation’s mortgages are owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

To look up online whether
your mortgage is owned or backed by Fannie or Freddie, click these links:

• Is my loan backed by Fannie Mae ?
• Is my loan backed by Freddie Mac ?

CARES Act Relief Options

If your mortgage is a
federally backed mortgage, you have two mortgage relief options under the CARES
Act:

• First, your lender or loan servicer may not foreclose on
  you for 60 days after March 18, 2020. Specifically, the CARES Act prohibits
  lenders and servicers from beginning a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure
  against you, or from finalizing a foreclosure judgment or sale, during this
  period of time.
• Second, if you experience financial hardship due to the
  coronavirus pandemic, you have a right to request a forbearance for up to 180 days. You also have the right to request
  one extension for another up to 180 days. You must contact your loan
  servicer to request this forbearance. There will be no additional
  fees, penalties or additional interest (beyond scheduled amounts) added to your
  account. You do not need to submit additional documentation to qualify other
  than your claim to have a pandemic-related financial hardship.

If your mortgage is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

In addition to the
foreclosure moratorium and forbearance, if you are granted forbearance to delay
making your monthly payments during this temporary period:

• You won’t incur late fees
• You won’t have delinquencies reported to credit reporting
  companies
• Foreclosure and other legal proceedings will be suspended

Borrowers with a mortgage not backed by
the federal government

If you have a mortgage
loan that is not backed by one of the federal agencies or entities listed
above, contact your servicer. The CFPB and other financial regulators have
encouraged financial institutions to work with borrowers who are or may be
unable to meet their obligations because of the effects of COVID-19.

Your servicer should help
you identify alternatives that may be available to you given your specific
circumstances.

Your state may also offer additional mortgage relief
options

Many states are
implementing or considering various mortgage relief options, including the
suspension of foreclosures, as well as additional assistance for homeowners.
Check your state’s government website for details.

How
to request forbearance or mortgage relief

Call your servicer

You may have to wait on
the line for a while to speak to your mortgage servicer because there are a lot
of people in need right now. Be prepared with the following information and
questions you want to ask, and check their website before you call to see if
there is a list provided of information you may need. Have your account number
handy.

You may need to explain

• Why you’re unable to make your payment
• Whether the problem is temporary or permanent
• Details about your income, expenses and other assets,
  like cash in the bank
• Whether you’re a servicemember with permanent change of
  station (PCS) orders

Questions to ask

• What options are available to help you temporarily reduce
  or suspend my payments?
• Are there forbearance, loan modification, or other
  options?
• Can you waive late fees?

Get it in writing

Once you’re able to
secure forbearance or another mortgage relief option, ask your servicer to
provide written documentation that confirms the details of your agreement and
that you’re clear on what the terms are. With
some forbearance programs, you may owe all of your missed payments at one time,
or additional payments at the end of the mortgage might be required, so make
sure you’re familiar with the final terms.

What
to do once you’ve received a mortgage relief option

While you’re in the
forbearance period, or working under another mortgage relief option, there are
a number of things to do to continue to protect yourself. This advice applies
to both a CARES Act forbearance and other mortgage relief that you might
receive.

• Keep written documentation on hand. You want to make sure that you have this
  documentation available in case there are any errors on your monthly mortgage
  statements to ensure that your statement reflects the assistance provided.
• Pay attention to your monthly mortgage statement. Continue monitoring your monthly mortgage
  statements to make sure you don’t see any errors.
• Keep an eye on your credit. It’s a good idea to routinely check your credit
  reports in order to make sure there
  are no errors or inaccuracies. If you stop making mortgage payments without a
  forbearance agreement, the servicer will report this information to the credit
  reporting companies, and it can have a lasting negative impact on your credit
  history. If an error has
  been made, however, you can work to dispute it. Get more information about credit reporting
  and coronavirus.
• Once your income is restored, contact your servicer and
  resume your payments. With
  forbearance, you still owe the payments that you missed, but fewer missed
  payments mean you’ll owe less down the road.
• If you’re continuing to receive some income that turns
  out to be more than you need for your bills and expenses (including anything
  you keep paying on your mortgage), consider putting the extra money away so you
  can use it to pay off what’s needed later. If
  you can save any money now, it’ll be helpful when payments are due later.

Be
aware of scams

Scammers often take
advantage of vulnerable consumers during disasters and financial shocks. In
addition to coronavirus-related
scams, be aware of scams that falsely
promise financial relief from your mortgage loan, or from foreclosure.

Here’s what to watch for
as scammers may:

• Charge a high up-front fee for their services
• Promise to get you a loan modification
• Ask you to sign over your property title
• Ask you to sign papers you don’t understand
• Tell you to make payments to someone other than your
  servicer
• Tell you to stop making payments altogether
• Promise you payments in connection with providing credit
  card numbers and other personal information

Learn what steps
you can take if you believe you’ve been a victim of a foreclosure scam

Protections
for renters

If you are renting from
an owner who has a federally backed mortgage, the CARES Act provides for a
suspension or moratorium on evictions. If your landlord has a federally backed
mortgage or multi-family mortgage, you cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent
for 120 days beginning on March 27, 2020, the effective date of the CARES Act.
After the 120-day period is up, the landlord cannot require you, the tenant, to
vacate until providing you with a thirty-day notice to vacate.

If the property you rent
isn’t covered by the CARES Act, many states have suspended all evictions and
foreclosures due to the pandemic. Check the websites of your state
government, state court , or legal aid program for details and updates.

Where
to get additional help

If you need help working
with your servicer or understanding your options you may want to reach out to a
professional to help you with your specific situation.

• HUD-Approved Housing Counselors. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
  Development (HUD)-approved housing
  counselors can discuss options with
  you if you’re having trouble paying your mortgage loan or reverse mortgage
  loan. This may also include forbearance or a modified payment program.
• Credit Counselors. Reputable credit counseling
  organizations are generally
  non-profit organizations that can advise you on your money and debts, and help
  you with a budget. Some may also help you negotiate with creditors. There are
  specific questions to ask
  to help you find a credit counseling organization to work with.
• Lawyers. If
  you need a lawyer, there may be resources to assist you through your local bar
  association, legal aid, or if you are a
  servicemember, your local Legal Assistance Office .

Find more information
regarding COVID-19 from CFPB

We’re
working to continuously update information for consumers during this rapidly
evolving situation.

We
will publish all COVID-19-related information and blogs to our resource page.
Information should be considered accurate as of the blog publish date.

See our COVID-19 resource page

Topics:

• •MORTGAGES

• •DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES

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Best regards,

Lois Healy- CEO

Affordable Homeownership
Foundation Inc

5264 Clayton Court, Suite 1

Fort Myers, FL 33907

www.ahf.today

239-689-4944

Great Minds
discuss ideas;

average minds
discuss events;

small minds
discuss people.

Eleanor
Roosevelt