To help provide relief to many homeowners currently in forbearance due to COVID-19, President Biden today announced an extension of certain foreclosure moratoriums and mortgage forbearance programs that were set to expire in March. Today’s announcement applies to loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Agriculture, and those insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The foreclosure moratorium for those homeowners will now be extended through June 30, 2021. Those agencies also extended the date by which borrowers must request COVID-19 forbearance to June 30, 2021. Finally, borrowers who entered forbearance before June 30, 2020, can now request two additional forbearance extensions in three-month increments.
The announcement by President Biden today was done in conjunction with formal announcements by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Agriculture in a coordinated effort to extend and expand upon existing forbearance and foreclosure relief programs. The extensions follow an announcement made last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would extend forbearance by three months for borrowers coming to the end of their forbearance period and extend the moratorium on foreclosures for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans to March 31, 2021.
