March 7, 2018
Homeowners in federally-declared disaster areas are still working to recover homes, property, and personal lives after the hurricanes, mudslides, fires, and other natural disasters in recent times.
Efforts by the federal government including the FHA and FEMA are ongoing.
Home owners-including FHA borrowers-have a range of options open to them including FHA loan foreclosure avoidance, loan forbearance, even the addition of a partial claim procedure to help FHA borrowers avoid payment shock as they resume pre-disaster FHA home loan payments.
Some of these programs are well-known in the disaster areas they serve. But what might not be so well known? The fact that information about these programs is available in Spanish.
The FHA/HUD official site includes information in Spanish about disaster relief options. The publication, “Información Importante Sobre Recuperación Ante Desastres” includes information on FHA loan forbearance, FHA rehab loan options such as the FHA 203(h) rehab loan for disaster victims, the FHA 203(k) rehab loan (which can be used in conjunction with the 203(h), and much more.
There is also a set of Spanish-language help options, as the FHA official site explains:
“Para obtener más información sobre los programas de la FHA, visite www.fha.gov,www.espanol.hud.gov. Llámenos al 1-800-Call FHA (1-800-225-5342), envíenos un correo electrónico a [email protected], o visite nuestra base de conocimientos en línea.”
“Las personas con impedimentos de habla o audición pueden acceder a este número a través de TTY llamando al Servicio Federal de Transmisión al (800) 877-8339, o usando cualquiera de los formatos accesibles disponibles a través de los números proporcionados en el siguiente enlace: https://www.federalrelay.us/tty”
In the wake of a natural disaster or other event that can affect a borrower’s ability to make monthly FHA mortgage payments, enjoy the home safely (or other effects), it is crucial that homeowners get in touch with their loan officers immediately to determine next steps.
In some cases you may be required to contact FEMA, file claims, and begin FHA or other government paperwork. It’s never safe to assume you are not required to continue making mortgage payments even if your home has been completely destroyed or is uninhabitable.
The more quickly a homeowner acts after a natural disaster, the more options that borrower may have for foreclosure avoidance, unnecessary fees or other problems.
Contact your participating lender to make payment arrangements or to initiate loan forbearance procedures where available.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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