With many homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy, Freddie Mac announced it will offer mortgage relief to these borrowers.
The government-sponsored enterprise is strongly encouraging mortgage servicers to help borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned loans. The organization asked them to suspend foreclosure and eviction proceedings for up to 12 months, waive the assessments of penalties or late fees against those with homes damaged in the storm and not report forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to credit bureaus.
"Freddie Mac has authorized the nation's mortgage servicers to provide a full range of mortgage relief options to affected borrowers with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac," said Tracy Mooney, senior vice president of single-family servicing and real estate owned at Freddie Mac.
Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to residential homes on the east coast. Many properties were significantly damaged, while some were destroyed completely. EQECAT estimates that there were $5 billion to $10 billion in insured losses and $10 billion to $20 billion in total economic damages.
