A policy statement by a number of federal and state regulatory agencies is laying the foundation for mortgage servicers to be able to give homeowners a break on monthly payments during hard financial times spawned by the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, homeowners holding a federally-back mortgage and who are experiencing financial hardship, either directly or indirectly because of the virus, can seek deferral of mortgage payments for 180 days and possibly longer.
The agencies’ policy statement clarifies that they do not intend to take supervisory or enforcement action against mortgage servicers for delays in sending certain early intervention and loss mitigation notices, or for taking certain actions relating to loss mitigation set out in the mortgage servicing rules – provided that servicers are making good faith efforts to provide these notices and take these actions within a reasonable time.