By GreenPath Financial Wellness | 4.14.2020
Many families, hourly wage earners, and seniors on fixed incomes
have fears of hardship in the near term as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some worry about their finances in terms of weeks—some only days, much less
months that are potentially needed for full economic recovery.
“Shelter in place – stay at home…” Those phrases are everywhere
and indicate that housing is a need now more than ever.
If you’re a homeowner who is facing hardship and worrying about
planning for your housing costs, here are a few tips to consider:
·
Contact your mortgage servicer as
soon as you think you have a problem making payments.
o
Open and respond to all
correspondence from your servicer.
o
Seek help early. You may have relief options which include suspending payments
for a period of time or reducing the amount of your payment. Options can vary
based on your loan type and situation and as more information from the industry
becomes available. Keep in mind, you may have to wait for a bit when you call –
the servicers are VERY busy right now and are handling lots of calls and
questions from homeowners.
o
Prepare for your conversation with
them. Your mortgage servicer will
commonly ask for:
·
Full contact information for all
borrowers on the loan
·
Property information (address, loan
number)
·
Hardship reason – why you are unable
to meet your current payment and when it started
·
All income amounts and sources
contributing to the mortgage
·
Assets
·
Be wary of scams. No one can promise or guarantee modification of a loan or
prevention of foreclosure other than your servicer.
There are organizations that can help. Most offer assistance
free of charge, whether it’s help trimming your budget to save a bit more to
put toward necessities, helping you understand what your options might be in
order to best work with your servicer, or providing important referrals to
local assistance.
Here are three places to go for help:
·
Call the Homeowners HOPE Hotline at
1-888-995-HOPE (4673), a service which helps homeowners avoid foreclosure
·
Look for a HUD approved housing
counseling agency near you using HUD’s online locator tool
·
For local resources simply dial 211
on your phone to connect to a hotline which provides information on essential
community resources and services including food and clothing banks, shelters,
rent assistance, and utility assistance.
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