Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae both announced on March 25th, 2020 that a two month deferral option is available for some borrowers who are facing a short term hardship (such as being laid off from a job because of COVID-19). If the borrower is able to resolve the hardship within that two month time period and can resume paying their mortgage payments in full, they will be eligible to defer those two months of payments to the end of their mortgage without needing to significantly modify the loan. The deferred payment and interest is due either on the mortgage maturity date, the pay-off date or upon the sale of the property, whichever comes first. Mortgage servicers will be able to start evaluating borrowers to see if they are eligible for payment deferrals beginning on July 1.
Original blog post regarding forbearance plans can be found here.
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