Did the Federal Government Stop My Mortgage Payments?
April 7, 2020
Headlines about mortgage relief programs are everywhere at the time of this writing. Many homeowners are seeing news reports about government mortgage relief and wondering if they still have to make their mortgage loan payments.
Do homeowners still have to make their monthly payments during the coronavirus? YES. You still have to pay your mortgage during the coronavirus.
This is true UNLESS you have made specific arrangements with your lender. You should not skip mortgage payments just because you read a news story.
Why is this true? Because ALL federal mortgage relief guidelines are directed at your loan servicer, not you. Federal measures to provide market stability and consumer protection (relevant to your mortgage) are aimed at the lenders and ALL procedures in place REQUIRE you to negotiate with your financial institution.
If you haven’t gotten permission from the bank to skip or delay payments, or if you have not made arrangements for your loan to do ANYTHING outside the ordinary as you normally would have done pre-coronavirus, you CANNOT SKIP PAYMENTS without the usual penalties.
How to Take Advantage of Federal Mortgage Relief Programs
The first thing you must do is make your mortgage payments until told to do otherwise. You must call your loan officer to ask what options are available to you during the coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared a natural disaster by the United States credit industry (as reported by some sources).
Depending on the nature of your loan, you may qualify for loan forbearance, loan modification, refinance, or other measures. If you have fallen behind on payments you should act as soon as possible because the more payments you miss, the fewer options you have.
Missing even a single payment without contacting your lender is a huge mistake. Don’t make it. You may not be able to avoid missing a payment, but doing so without coordinating with your lender is the first step on a very slippery slope toward loan default and foreclosure.
For FHA mortgages, there is a 60-day moratorium on foreclosure actions and their associated eviction actions, but this should not be viewed as anything but a delay--if you risk foreclosure, contact your lender immediately to put a STOP to foreclosure action and explore your options to get your mortgage caught up.
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Homebuyers Benefit From the Work Done by Fannie Mae
HUD 4000.1 is Sometimes Called the FHA Handbook
Credit History Is Presented as Your FICO Score
Do homeowners still have to make their monthly payments during the coronavirus? YES. You still have to pay your mortgage during the coronavirus.
This is true UNLESS you have made specific arrangements with your lender. You should not skip mortgage payments just because you read a news story.
Why is this true? Because ALL federal mortgage relief guidelines are directed at your loan servicer, not you. Federal measures to provide market stability and consumer protection (relevant to your mortgage) are aimed at the lenders and ALL procedures in place REQUIRE you to negotiate with your financial institution.
If you haven’t gotten permission from the bank to skip or delay payments, or if you have not made arrangements for your loan to do ANYTHING outside the ordinary as you normally would have done pre-coronavirus, you CANNOT SKIP PAYMENTS without the usual penalties.
How to Take Advantage of Federal Mortgage Relief Programs
The first thing you must do is make your mortgage payments until told to do otherwise. You must call your loan officer to ask what options are available to you during the coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared a natural disaster by the United States credit industry (as reported by some sources).
Depending on the nature of your loan, you may qualify for loan forbearance, loan modification, refinance, or other measures. If you have fallen behind on payments you should act as soon as possible because the more payments you miss, the fewer options you have.
Missing even a single payment without contacting your lender is a huge mistake. Don’t make it. You may not be able to avoid missing a payment, but doing so without coordinating with your lender is the first step on a very slippery slope toward loan default and foreclosure.
For FHA mortgages, there is a 60-day moratorium on foreclosure actions and their associated eviction actions, but this should not be viewed as anything but a delay--if you risk foreclosure, contact your lender immediately to put a STOP to foreclosure action and explore your options to get your mortgage caught up.
------------------------------
RELATED VIDEOS:
Homebuyers Benefit From the Work Done by Fannie Mae
HUD 4000.1 is Sometimes Called the FHA Handbook
Credit History Is Presented as Your FICO Score
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