Freddie Mac Expands Hurricane Sandy Relief, Suspends All Evictions and Foreclosures

Freddie Mac has declared a mandatoryrnsuspension of evictions and foreclosures on homes secured by mortgages it ownsrnor guarantees which were affected by Hurricane Sandy.  The company announced this and other steps todayrnafter consulting with its conservator the Federal Housing Finance Agencyrn(FHFA.)  Hurricane Sandy and its relatedrnstorm surge did enormous damage on October 28 and 29 along the east coast fromrnNorth Carolina to Connecticut and especially in seacoast New Jersey and severalrnboroughs of New York City.</p

On October 30 Freddie Mac announced itrnwas making its full range of disaster relief services available, allowing servicersrnto suspend foreclosure and eviction proceedings for up to 12 months on arncase-by-case basis, waiving penalties or late fees, and not reportingrndelinquencies or forbearance to credit bureaus. Today’s announcement expandsrnthe scope of these services to authorize servicers to:</p<ul class="unIndentedList"<liAutomatically suspend for 90-daysrnevictions and foreclosure sales for borrowers with homes secured by Freddie Macrnowned-or guaranteed mortgages and located in eligible disaster areas with thernoption to extend suspensions for up to 12 months on a case-by-case basis. Borrowers are still encouraged to contactrntheir servicers to discuss their situation. </li<liAuthorize servicers to verballyrngrant 90-day forbearances to all borrowers in eligible disaster areas,rnincluding borrowers with mortgages modified under the Home AffordablernModification Program (HAMP) or who are currently in a HAMP or StandardrnModification Trial Period Plan. </li<liExpedite the distribution ofrninsurance proceeds on storm damage claims to speed up repairs of storm-damagedrnhomes.</li</ul

Additionally, Freddie Mac willrnmaintain pricing that was in place at the time of the storm for mortgages thatrnare secured by homes in eligible disaster areas and delivered through FreddiernMac’s bulk guarantor channel.</p

Tracy Mooney, Senior Vice Presidentrnof Single-Family Servicing and Real Estate Owned at Freddie Mac said, “Givenrnearly assessments of Hurricane Sandy’s devastating impact, we are preparingrnsteps that will authorize automatic and immediate action by the nation’srnmortgage servicers to help more borrowers with mortgages owned or guaranteed byrnFreddie Mac.  These steps are intended to provide borrowers with peace ofrnmind and help lay the groundwork for a faster recovery in the neighborhoods andrncommunities affected by the storm.”</p

Homeowners in affected areas should contactrntheir mortgage servicer or call Freddie Mac at 800-FREDDIE. 

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