As mortgage forbearance winds down, some homeowners will be in for a shock.

In March of last year, The Cares Act allowed homeowners to 'skip' their mortgage payments for up to 360 days. Nearly 5% of all mortgages are still in forbearance. That's over 2 million homeowners. Now, as those deadlines are occurring, many homeowners are surprised to find the lender can demand all of the skipped payments due at once.

That is obviously not a realistic option for most families. Most lenders will have other options for getting the loan current, including deferring the payments to the end of the term, or increasing the monthly payment. However, lenders can, by law demand whatever payments they want to bring the account current, including demanding all past payments due at once.
 
A number of families may not be able to meet the new conditions and losing their home to foreclosure is a real possibility.  According to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (link), people of color will be hardest hit, as 9% of black mortgage borrowers, and 8% of hispanic borrowers are in forbearance...compared to less than 4% of whites.

If your family has found itself in this situation, and losing your home is a real possibility, call us at the law firm of T. Verner Smith. If you qualify, there are legal options that can stop foreclosure, the eviction process, and lawsuits.

This is just one example of how families affected by the COVID19 crisis were forced into seeking help, and now that timelines have exhausted, they can be unprepared or unable to answer new financial demands.
  
Our office has helped thousands of Tennessee families struggling with financial problems and we offer a free consultation to determine how we can help you.  Call us at (731) 423-1888.