Eligible homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew may be eligible for mortgage relief and other disaster assistance.
Freddie Mac’s disaster relief policies authorize mortgage servicers to help affected borrowers in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs have been extended to affected individuals and households, according to a Freddie Mac news release. A list of these areas can be found at http://www.fema.gov/disasters.
“There are now more than 300,000 borrowers across four states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — whose homes may have been impacted by the storm and associated flooding,” Yvette Gilmore, Freddie Mac’s vice president of single-family servicer performance management, said in the release. “We want to remind homeowners about the options that are available to them. 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 mortgage relief options that may be available to affected homeowners include:
• Suspending foreclosures by providing forbearance for up to 12 months;
• Waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes; and
• Not reporting forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation’s credit bureaus.
Affected borrowers who feel they may be eligible for relief should immediately contact their mortgage servicer, the company to which they send their monthly mortgage payment, the release stated.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced it will speed federal disaster assistance to the Commonwealth of Virginia and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to Hurricane Matthew, according to a HUD release. President Obama issued a disaster declaration for the cities of Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, which allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance to certain families living in this county.
“Families who may have been forced from their homes need to know that help is available to begin the rebuilding process,” HUD Secretary Julian Castro said in the release. “Whether it’s foreclosure relief for FHA-insured families or helping these counties to recover, HUD stands ready to help in any way we can.”
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