Freddie Mac Extends Mortgage Relief to Borrowers Affected by Hurricane Ivan
17 September 2004 - 9:47PM
PR Newswire (US)
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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