Officials say 60-day suspension will help homeowners during “national emergency”
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced that they will suspend foreclosures and evictions due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
HUD announced Wednesday that it was enacting an “immediate foreclosure and eviction moratorium for single-family homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages.” The moratorium will last for 60 days, according to HUD.
“Today’s actions will allow households who have an FHA-insured mortgage to meet the challenges of COVID-19 without fear of losing their homes, and help steady market concerns,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson said Wednesday. “The health and safety of the American people is of the utmost importance to the department, and the halting of all foreclosure actions and evictions will provide homeowners with some peace of mind during these trying times.”
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that Fannie and Freddie would also suspend foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days. the suspension applied to homeowners with a GSE-backed single-family mortgage.
Earlier this month, the FHFA announced that the GSEs would provide payment forbearance to borrowers impacted by the pandemic. Forbearance allows for a mortgage payment to be suspended for up to 12 months.
“This foreclosure and eviction suspension allows homeowners with an enterprise-backed mortgage to stay in their homes during this national emergency,” said Mark Calabria, director of the FHFA. “As a reminder, borrowers affected by the coronavirus who are having difficulty paying their mortgage should reach out to their mortgages servicers as soon as possible. The enterprises are working with mortgage servicers to ensure that borrowers facing hardship because of the coronavirus can get assistance.”
