September 12, 2011 (Shirley Allen)

Freddie Mac is providing an array of relief policies to individuals and households with Freddie Mac-owned loans whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Irene and who are located within counties that have been declared Major Disaster Areas.

Each case is individually assessed to determine what assistance will best fit each homeowner’s circumstances but can include:

– Suspending foreclosure and eviction proceedings for up to 12 months;

– 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.

“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 Anthony Renzi, Executive Vice President of Single-Family Business, Operations and Technology at Freddie Mac. “Forbearance on mortgage payments for up to one year are among the options our servicers have been instructed to offer borrowers on a case-by-case basis.”

Individuals and households who reside in the following states and counties are eligible for disaster relief:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts – Berkshire and Franklin Counties;

New Hampshire – Carroll and Grafton Counties;

New Jersey – Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties;

New York – Albany, Bronx, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington, and Westchester Counties;

North Carolina – Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson Counties;

Vermont – Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windham, and Windsor Counties.

Individuals and households who are in need of mortgage relief should contact their mortgage servicer or call Freddie Mac at 1-800-FREDDIE.

For additional information on Freddie Mac’s disaster relief policies visit Freddie Mac online.

Tags: Freddie Mac, mortgage servicers, disaster relief, Hurricane Irene, suspending foreclosure, waiving assessments

Source:
Freddie Mac