Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Eviction Moratoriums

On Thursday December 1st, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both announced eviction moratoriums that will take place over the holidays. From December 19 through January 2, families living in properties where a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan has been foreclosed upon will not be evicted.


NOTE:  The legal and administrative processes for the evictions may continue during this time, but families will be able to stay in their homes.  In addition, the GSE's will continue with the foreclosure process on delinquent borrowers during this time period as well.


Large mortgage servicers often follow suit – we will updated this blog if we learn of additional banks or servicers initiating moratoriums. 


There are some nuances to the Fannie and Freddie moratoriums; additional details are available in the press releases here and here.


There is no "cold weather" rule regarding foreclosure or evictions after foreclosure in Minnesota.  If you are struggling with mortgage payments or have questions about the process, contact a FREE non-profit Homeownership Adviser that specializes in foreclosure prevention TODAY.  Waiting limits your options!

Foreclosure Moratorium in Minnesota?

Disaster Areas in Minnesota Affected

On Tuesday May 11th, the Federal Government announced that federal disaster aid had been made available to Minnesota to assist with the state and local recovery areas from the spring storms and flooding that started back in mid-March and continues through today. While this means that Federal funding is available to state and local governments to help with protection and recovery efforts, there is also a housing-related issue that this National Disaster declaration puts into place: a 90 day moratorium on any foreclosure action on any FHA backed loans for consumers affected by the storms/flooding. (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a handful of private lenders/servicers also have standing policies about halting foreclosures in Disaster Areas.)

The counties affected by the National Disaster declaration are: Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Chippewa, Clay, Grant, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lyon, McLeod, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Scott, Sibley, Stevens, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine counties.

Remember, the moratorium and other tools that HUD has put in place for lenders (mortgagees) to use are only available to homeowners that have been DIRECTLY affected by the disaster.

In a clarification conversation the MN Home Ownership Center had with local HUD representatives in Minnesota, the word AFFECTED can mean:

• Either the property itself was damaged or destroyed by the storms/flooding,

or

• The homeowner’s income was affected by the flooding (their place of work or business is flooded, for example)

Affected homeowners who have an FHA-backed mortgage are instructed to call their lender to see what tools FHA has in place for helping with foreclosure avoidance following the disaster declaration.

In addition, the Homeownership Advisors Network is ready to assist ANY homeowner that is struggling with mortgage payments, especially those homeowners that have been affected by the spring storms.

Don’t delay, contact a foreclosure counselor that is a member of the Homeownership Advisors Network TODAY to see if there’s help available for YOU to avoid foreclosure. Even if you’re not yet behind, now is the time to call. To find your local foreclosure counselor, click here.