Coronavirus Mortgage Relief

The FHFA statement also urged borrowers who are having difficulty keeping up with their mortgage payments due to the spread of COVID-19 to reach out to their mortgage servicers for assistance “as soon as possible.”

Available assistance includes the ability to temporarily reduce or delay mortgage payments for up to 12 months through a forbearance plan. During this period, borrowers in forbearance won’t incur penalties or late fees and won’t have past-due payments reported to the credit bureaus.

Additionally, Fannie and Freddie have directed servicers to work with borrowers to keep their payments manageable at the end of the forbearance period. This could include offering a loan modification to lower their monthly payments or keep them the same following the forbearance period.

For more information, visit the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac websites.

Additional Fannie And Freddie Changes

As the mortgage industry moves to meet the unique demands and challenges brought on by this situation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will relax requirements for appraisals and employment verification to ensure that borrowers can still get mortgages during this time.

The relaxed appraisal requirements will allow appraisals to continue while reducing the need for appraisers to physically go inside homes. Alternatives to traditional appraisals could include desktop appraisals or exterior-only inspection appraisals, according to Fannie Mae.

For employment verification on Fannie- and Freddie-backed loans, lenders are permitted to obtain verification from an applicant’s employer via email or by using a recent year-to-date paystub or bank statement from the borrower in lieu of verbal verification of employment from the employer.