Freddie Mac Extends Mortgage Relief to Borrowers Affected by Hurricane Ivan MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac's full menu of relief policies for borrowers affected by disasters is being extended to families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in locations declared Major Disaster Areas, Freddie Mac announced today. Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages. "Freddie Mac and the nation's mortgage servicers are working together so homeowners affected by Hurricane Ivan have one less thing to worry about," said Freddie Mac Senior Vice President Mike May. "Today's announcement means these families can work with their servicers right now to expedite the release of insurance proceeds and receive forbearance on their mortgage payments for up to one year." Freddie Mac disaster relief policies provide a number of ways for mortgage servicers to provide borrowers with relief that can help protect their credit ratings and financial interests in their homes. For example, Freddie Mac is allowing servicers additional discretion to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months for borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages in the declared major-disaster areas. Each case must be individually assessed to determine which alternative will best fit the homeowner's circumstances. Freddie Mac's disaster relief policies also strongly encourage servicers to extend several other measures to help affected borrowers with Freddie Mac- owned loans: * Expediting the release of insurance proceeds to help borrowers secure materials, labor and other resources to repair their homes; * Waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes; and, * Not reporting forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation's credit bureaus. For more information on mortgage payment relief, homeowners should contact their mortgage servicer -- the company to which they send their monthly mortgage payment -- or call Freddie Mac at 800-FREDDIE. Freddie Mac's general disaster relief policies are posted online at http://www.freddiemac.com/singlefamily/relief.html. Since 2000, using our loss mitigation plans, servicers working with Freddie Mac kept over 145,000 financially troubled families in their homes. Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress in 1970 to create a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases mortgages from lenders and packages them into securities that are sold to investors. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than two million renters across America. DATASOURCE: Freddie Mac CONTACT: Brad German of Freddie Mac, +1-703-903-2437 Web site: http://www.freddiemac.com/

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