Freddie Mac Suspends All Evictions, Foreclosures In Hurricane Sandy Major Disaster Areas

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) announced that, after consultation with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, it is taking additional steps as part of its commitment to help borrowers affected by Hurricane Sandy including the immediate and mandatory suspension of evictions and foreclosures on homes secured by Freddie Mac owned-or guaranteed mortgages in eligible disaster areas.  The new policy changes are scheduled to go to mortgage servicers next week and build on Freddie Mac's October 30 announcement of storm relief for borrowers with homes in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs are available.  Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in residential mortgages.

News Facts:Freddie Mac is revising its disaster relief policies to authorize mortgage servicers to:

• Automatically suspend for 90-days evictions and foreclosure sales for borrowers with homes secured by Freddie Mac owned-or guaranteed mortgages and located in eligible disaster areas borrowers are still encouraged to contact their servicers to discuss their situation.  Freddie Mac disaster policies enable servicers to extend forbearance and repayment plans for up to 12 months on a case-by-case basis without prior Freddie Mac approval.
• Authorize servicers to verbally grant 90-day forbearances to all borrowers in eligible disaster areas, including borrowers with mortgages modified under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or who are currently in a HAMP or Standard Modification Trial Period Plan.
• Expedite the distribution of insurance proceeds on storm damage claims to speed up repairs of storm-damaged homes.

The additional disaster policy changes are scheduled to go to Freddie Mac servicers in a Guide Bulletin next week:

Additionally, Freddie Mac will maintain pricing that was in place at the time of the storm for mortgages that are secured by homes in eligible disaster areas and delivered through Freddie Mac's bulk guarantor channel.

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