April 14, 2020
If you have an FHA mortgage and are worried about your ability to make mortgage payments during the economic shutdown over the coronavirus. What should you do?
The FHA has some advice for you on taking advantage of the mortgage relief options provided by the FHA and HUD during the coronavirus pandemic.
The FHA official site advises FHA borrowers to do three things if you are able:
- Continue to make your monthly mortgage payments if you are able to do so;
- If you are unable to make your mortgage payment, contact your mortgage servicer and discuss your situation with a loss mitigation specialist.
- Contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency (you can get a referral by calling 1-800 CALL FHA).
Have you lost your job? Have you been laid off, furloughed or experienced a loss of income as a result of COVID-19. The FHA and HUD advise borrowers that you must contact your loan officer as soon as possible. Why?
Participating lenders are required to offer you COVID-19 mortgage payment relief options but your lender must determine that you are eligible.
Call your lender or loan servicer to discuss the possibility of being approved for the coronavirus mortgage repayment option that allows you to defer or lower your monthly payments for up to six months, with an additional six-month option if required.
Contact your loan servicer today about the FHA COVID-19 National Emergency Forbearance option. It is NOT automatic and you must call to be considered.
Do you want to claim mortgage relief under the measures provided during the COVID-19 National Emergency? If so, will you need to provide my servicer with documentation to prove there is a need for help?
The short answer is that participating FHA lenders will ask you to confirm a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 National Emergency but according to the FHA the lender “will not require that you supply any documents.”
Your mortgage servicer can further explain the COVID-19 Forbearance and can help you figure out other options for repaying any suspended mortgage payments or the balance of reduced mortgage payments”
What about those who have FHA mortgage payments reduced or suspended under a COVID-19 Forbearance? Do those suspended payments need to be repaid at some point? Yes, FHA.gov advises that borrowers who have loan forbearance programs will work the details of the repayment out with the loan servicer.
If you make my regular mortgage payments again in less than six months, should you? The FHA and HUD say yes, you should No one is obligated to take the full six months of loan forbearance. You can start making payments again at any time before the end of the six months.
Bruce Reichstein has spent over three decades as an experienced FHA and VA home loan mortgage banker and underwriter where he was responsible for funding “Billions” in government backed mortgage loans. He is the Managing Editor for FHANewsblog.com where he educates homeowners on the specific guidelines for obtaining FHA guaranteed home loans.
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