Government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that loan servicers could suspend payments for up to 1 year for homeowners who are experiencing a loss of income due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
This special forbearance period will excuse any penalties and/or late fees against borrowers and their delays in payments will not be reported to credit agencies according to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
During the recession is the last time this was put in place and it did negatively affect people’s credit scores as their mortgage loan payments became late. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also suspended all evictions and foreclosure sales for 60 days.
Note that you don’t have to have the virus in order to qualify for the payment relief and the relieft applies to any type of property: your primary residence, your second home, or your investment properties.
The forbearance period allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reevaluate the borrower’s ability to pay to make sure they still need a plan. On conclusion of the forbearance period, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will tell servicers to work out an affordable repayment plan that also might include extending the term of the loan.
your loan servicer is you are struggling financially to request help.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have requested that services be responsive to potential requests for assistance from borrowers impacted by COVID-19.
Market experts are predicting that there will be a push in refinancing by homeowners after the COVID-19 outbreak dies down and we start to return to more normal operations. One expert stated that it probably doesn’t make since to do it right now but to wait and see what happens after the crisis.
Other Real Estate Market News
The FED made an emergency rate cut, dropping the rates to zero in response to COVID-19. The FED is being overwhelmed by the crisis and had to take this action to help out. There is talk that an emergency government policy giving money directly to people who have lost their jobs may help. The FED will continue with policies to help during this crisis.
I have recently viewed an article by the National Association of Realtors talking about how home buying traffic picked up in February amidst the COVID-19 early outbreak and the stock market drop.
A company named SentriLock® LLC which produces most of the lock boxes that Realtors® use on homes they list for sale, showed that foot traffic index increased 19.1 points in February from the prior month and is up 25.1 points from a year ago.
Current economic conditions have not stopped people from buying homes. In my March newsletter, I put out these stats for Greenville.
- · Active listings: 3,277
- · Contingent contracts: 1,465
- · Pending contracts: 859
- · Homes sold in February: 1051
For March, a flash survey was done of Realtors® where 16 percent reported a decrease in home buying due to COVID-19. It will be interesting to see what shakes out at the end to our nationwide two-week quarantine period.
Victoria Cottle is a Realtor® in the Greenville South Carolina area and if you, a friend or a family member need assistance with selling or buying a home I can help. Referrals and people needing relocation assistance are welcome! Search Single Family homes in Greenville. Search Condos and Townhomes in Greenville.
Please contact Victoria Cottle by email thevictoriacottlegroup@gmail.com or call (864) 275-3953 for your real estate needs in the Upstate of South Carolina!