In our latest blog, we talk Mortgage Payment Deferral and COVID-19.
COVID-19 And Your Mortgage
COVID-19 has significantly altered our lives and economy over the past few days. There has been a lot of discussion in the news and social media about various programs that area available to mortgage holders.
It is important to note that things are changing daily if not hourly. I will attempt to update this blog post as things change, so if you are concerned about your mortgage, please keep checking back here.
- Please understand your situation before you contact your lender, and only contact them if you have an IMMEDIATE NEED with your mortgage. It is our understanding that mortgage holders are only being granted relief if there has been a disruption to your income and you have no other ability to pay.
- If you can foresee a possible future need for payment deferral, please take some time to better understand the type of relief you will need before contacting your lender. This is for two reasons. 1. There are others that have immediate needs. Please allow them to have priority access to the lenders. 2. You are likely to be denied payment relief if you have not experienced an income disruption
If you are concerned about your income in the future, take steps now to look at ways of enhancing your cash flow, whether its through an income tax return, deferring vacations, assessing other spending areas that you have discretion with.
How To Contact Your Lender
I have listed the a number of major lenders below, along with their phone and email contact information. If you need payment relief, I advise logging into your mortgage portal first as many lenders have “how to” instructions there. Also, I have linked out to many lenders websites re: COVID-19 – so please look at the list below to see if I have that link available for your lender. If this is not an option email your lender first, if available, because the phone lines are very busy. In your email, please include the following information:
Subject: “mortgage #” – “your name”
Body: To whom it may concern:
My name is “your name” and I am inquiring about mortgage payment relief. My address is “insert address” and my contact information is “provide phone number”.
Please advise how I can apply.
Sincerely,
“your name”
How To Protect Yourself If You Defer Payments
For those who have no choice but to request a deferred payment, here are some ways to protect your credit.
- Request electronic or written confirmation that the payment is being deferred.
- Ask for the employee number or service rep’s name that confirmed your deferred payment.
- Write down the day and time you talked to the customer service rep.
- Place all supporting documentation and record keeping in a safe place where you will actually remember where to find it.
- Track both your Equifax and TransUnion credit reports for at least the next few months
- If you do see an error, reach out to your lender and the credit reporting agencies to open up a dispute.
Mortgage Lender Contact List
For my clients, please contact me if you are uncertain of your lender or mortgage number.
Please stay safe, healthy, and follow our government directives so we can all move on from these circumstances as quickly as possible.
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