FHA and HUD Announce New COVID Relief Measures
October 8, 2021
During the pandemic, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a variety of COVID-19 relief measures for those with FHA mortgages.
Some of that relief was intended to become expired--an FHA Mortgagee letter titled, “Extension of the Foreclosure-Related Eviction Moratorium and Expiration of the Foreclosure Moratorium in Connection with the Presidentially-Declared COVID-19 National Emergency” advised FHA borrowers who had previously applied for foreclosure relief as follows:
“HUD’s foreclosure moratorium is set to expire on July 31, 2021, and HUD is not extending that moratorium further.” That statement was true for a time but the FHA and HUD have added more options for foreclosure relief including measures intended for FHA borrowers who have had recent financial difficulty because of COVID-19.
The announcement of that relief came on September 27, 2021. That is when, the FHA and HUD offered the latest in COVID-19 relief for recently affected borrowers.
The FHA and HUD press release describes the new relief for “borrowers recently or newly struggling to make their mortgage payments because of the pandemic” and there are also new measures offered to, “...senior homeowners with Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) who need assistance to remain in their homes.”
Under these new guidelines, homeowners who have mortgages guaranteed by the FHA Single-Family loan program will be offered as many as six months of COVID-19 forbearance “for borrowers requesting an initial COVID-19 Forbearance or HECM Extension from their mortgage servicer between October 1, 2021, and the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency.”
Under this plan, homeowners may also apply for six months of additional forbearance intended for those who will request an initial COVID-19 Forbearance or HECM Extension from their mortgage servicer between July 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021. That permits a full year of total forbearance help.
If you are behind on your home loan payments or are having trouble meeting terms of the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), contact your loan servicer as soon as possible to arrange for forbearance or other measures to save your home.
Such assistance is NOT automatic and must be requested. You must work with your loan servicer to get this forbearance--do not assume the assistance will happen automatically. You should also beware of third parties who reach out to you offering to “help” you save your mortgage--do not respond to any request for you to avoid your loan officer or cut your lender out of the communication process for any loan modification or forbearance.
Your lender’s cooperation and participation is REQUIRED in order for you to get foreclosure relief for the types of foreclosure avoidance we are discussing here.
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Some of that relief was intended to become expired--an FHA Mortgagee letter titled, “Extension of the Foreclosure-Related Eviction Moratorium and Expiration of the Foreclosure Moratorium in Connection with the Presidentially-Declared COVID-19 National Emergency” advised FHA borrowers who had previously applied for foreclosure relief as follows:
“HUD’s foreclosure moratorium is set to expire on July 31, 2021, and HUD is not extending that moratorium further.” That statement was true for a time but the FHA and HUD have added more options for foreclosure relief including measures intended for FHA borrowers who have had recent financial difficulty because of COVID-19.
The announcement of that relief came on September 27, 2021. That is when, the FHA and HUD offered the latest in COVID-19 relief for recently affected borrowers.
The FHA and HUD press release describes the new relief for “borrowers recently or newly struggling to make their mortgage payments because of the pandemic” and there are also new measures offered to, “...senior homeowners with Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) who need assistance to remain in their homes.”
Under these new guidelines, homeowners who have mortgages guaranteed by the FHA Single-Family loan program will be offered as many as six months of COVID-19 forbearance “for borrowers requesting an initial COVID-19 Forbearance or HECM Extension from their mortgage servicer between October 1, 2021, and the end of the COVID-19 National Emergency.”
Under this plan, homeowners may also apply for six months of additional forbearance intended for those who will request an initial COVID-19 Forbearance or HECM Extension from their mortgage servicer between July 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021. That permits a full year of total forbearance help.
If you are behind on your home loan payments or are having trouble meeting terms of the FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), contact your loan servicer as soon as possible to arrange for forbearance or other measures to save your home.
Such assistance is NOT automatic and must be requested. You must work with your loan servicer to get this forbearance--do not assume the assistance will happen automatically. You should also beware of third parties who reach out to you offering to “help” you save your mortgage--do not respond to any request for you to avoid your loan officer or cut your lender out of the communication process for any loan modification or forbearance.
Your lender’s cooperation and participation is REQUIRED in order for you to get foreclosure relief for the types of foreclosure avoidance we are discussing here.
------------------------------
RELATED VIDEOS:
You're Almost There When You Get Your Loan Approval
Learn About the Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP)
Pre-approval Starts the Mortgage Process
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