Hurricane Harvey swept through South Texas and Louisiana, bringing an unprecedented amount of rain and flooding with it. Now, Black Knight Financial Services predicts the mortgage industry could see up to 300,000 new delinquencies as a result of the storm, with 160,000 borrowers becoming seriously past due. Before the storm hit, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they were suspending foreclosures and evictions in wake of the hurricane. “Thankfully, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration have all announced temporary moratoria on evictions and foreclosure sales in Harvey-related disaster areas,” said Ben Graboske, Black Knight Data and Analytics executive vice president. “With these three organizations accounting for nearly 900,000 of mortgaged properties, the moratoria should help temper the negative effects.”
Federally regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have come together to get the word out about mortgage relief options for those affected by natural disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. If you are affected by the recent hurricanes, you are eligible to temporarily stop making your monthly mortgage payment for up to 12 months. At the end of this temporary payment break:
- You won’t have late fees.
- You won’t have delinquencies reported to the credit rating agencies.
- You won’t have to catch up on all of your payments at once.
- You can work with your servicer to resume making a mortgage payment that is similar to what you paid before the disaster. Or if you need additional assistance, you can work with your servicer on options to keep your home.
- Contact your mortgage servicer (the company where you send your monthly payments) as soon as possible to let them know about your current circumstances. The telephone number and mailing address of your mortgage servicer should be listed on your monthly mortgage statement. You also can look it up on the Mortgage Bankers Association website at www.mba.org/news-research-and-resources/hurricane-relief.
- If you are having difficulty contacting your mortgage servicer, contact the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) for assistance and FREE confidential support from a HUD-approved housing counselor.
Previously set to expire Sept. 30
President Donald Trump signed a three-month extension to the National Flood Insurance Program on Friday, giving Congress more time to come up with a long-term financial solution for the program. Trump signed the extension, which was included in H.R. 601, after the House passed the extension in a legislative package that also provides funding for hurricane relief and other priorities. With this new extension, the program will now expire on Dec. 8, 2017.
Since taking office, Trump has rousted illegal immigrants, overseeing a 145 percent jump in the arrest of noncriminal undocumented workers, and backed plans to squeeze legal ones by letting only English speakers in. He threatened Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto with a 35 percent tax on the country’s exports to the U.S., raised duties on imported Canadian lumber and continues to rattle China, South Korea and other parts of Asia with tough trade talk. All carry costs for the new U.S. home, a global melting pot of labor and parts. Trump’s policies could add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of a house.
Freddie Mac announced a new enhanced relief refinancing offering intended to aid borrowers who are making their mortgage payments on time, but are unable to participate in the GSE’s “no cast-out” refinance program due to having a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio above maximum requirements. The new program will be effective for mortgages with applications on or after November 1, 2018.
Tax reform is one of the major ticket items on the current administration’s agenda, a measure that Congress hopes to tackle now that they are back from summer recess. When President Donald Trump first announced his modified tax plan—the first comprehensive change in 30 years—one of the main amendments was the elimination of itemized tax deductions, which would be replaced by doubling the standard deduction. However, two subgroups in the housing industry that could stand to lose on this change rather than benefit: real estate agents, and residential builders.
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