Freddie Mac Extends Mortgage Relief to Borrowers Affected by Floods in Four States
MCLEAN, Va., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Freddie Mac's full menu of relief policies for borrowers affected by disasters is being extended to families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the recent floods in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and West Virginia and are located in federally declared Major Disaster Areas. Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages.
"Freddie Mac and the nation's mortgage servicers will work together to advance available mortgage relief to homeowners affected by these devastating floods," said Freddie Mac Senior Vice President of Default Asset Management Ingrid Beckles. "We are instructing our servicers to work with borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages to receive forbearance on their mortgage payments for up to one year."
Freddie Mac disaster relief policies provide a number of ways for mortgage servicers to provide help to borrowers in the declared major-disaster areas where individual assistance has been extended.
Freddie Mac, for example, gives servicers the discretion to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months for borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages. Each case must be individually assessed to determine which alternative will best fit the homeowner's circumstances.
Freddie Mac also strongly encourages servicers to help affected borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned loans by:
- Waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes;
- Not reporting forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation's credit bureaus; and
- Suspending foreclosure and eviction proceedings for up to 12 months.
For more information on mortgage payment relief, homeowners should contact their mortgage servicer -- the company to which they send their monthly mortgage payment -- or call Freddie Mac at 800-FREDDIE. Freddie Mac's general disaster relief policies are posted online at http://www.freddiemac.com/singlefamily/service/disastermgmt.html.
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.
SOURCE Freddie Mac
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