New Mortgage Rules Help Unemployed Homeowners
Mortgage loan servicers will be required to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months under new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rules announced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The requirements will also require servicers who participate in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months whenever possible. The goal is to get the mortgage industry to provide more robust assistance to unemployed homeowners who are struggling in a tough economy.
“The current unemployment forbearance programs have mandatory periods that are inadequate for the majority of unemployed borrowers,” HUD secretary Shaun Donovan says. “Today, 60 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for more than three months and 45 percent have been out of work for more than six. Providing the option for a year of forbearance will give struggling homeowners a substantially greater chance of finding employment before they lose their home.”
Fri, Jul 8, 2011 source:
Council of Residential Specialists
