Lender are beginning to give relief to borrowers in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises that back millions of mortgages. This week, they said that they may suspend mortgage payments for up to a year for homeowners who experience loss of income due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Moreover, Bank of America has announced that it will allow customers to request to defer payments on mortgages as part of its support measures that it is providing to customers. I understand that other lenders are doing the same.
While none of these statements of relief are definitive or set in stone, it is certainly a step in the right direction and I certainly hope that lenders will do the right thing as this crisis gets worse and continues to negatively affect the economy.
My advice is that if you seek a deferment of your mortgage payments, be sure to get any agreement that the lender may give to defer in writing. This is crucial so that you have evidence to prove your deferment agreement in the event that it falls through the cracks and the bank ends up foreclosing despite the apparent agreement.
