I wanted to share with my clients and friends some very helpful information on mortgage forbearance. Given the current situation we find ourselves in with many people either laid off or working less hours, people may be looking into this option. Congress approved the CARES act, requiring that federally backed mortgages must provide this opportunity. Forbearance is not forgiveness!! PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST!!!!
I watched an excellent webinar today done by a local mortgage lender. He explained that in 2017 after Hurricane Irma he was received a call or email from his lender which was a large, well known bank. They offered him the ability to postpone his mortgage payment for three months. He questioned them as to how the repayment would be done. Would it be due all at once at some point in the future? Would it just be added back into the loan to be paid over time? The lender replied, “we aren’t sure as this point how it be done”. He choose to take advantage of their offer. Given that he is a mortgage lender, he wisely set aside the mortgage payment in the savings account. At the end of the three months, the lender offered him the ability to extend the forbearance an additional three months. AGAIN, he questioned them on the process that would be used to collect the unpaid mortgage payments. He was told the same thing, “they were unsure just how it would be done”. At the end of the six months, he was told that the entire amount of forbearance was due within one week!! It was over $9000.
Please click the link below and spend a few minutes educating yourself on the process.