COVID-19: How to Suspend Your Mortgage Payments.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, homeowners are increasingly under strain, especially in the wake of historic unemployment numbers. Questions emerge as to how one may defer home mortgage payment amid this temporary hardship?

Suspending a home mortgage payment is called a forbearance. If your loan is federally backed and you are experiencing hardship caused by the pandemic, lenders are supposed to allow a forbearance. A forbearance plan temporarily suspends or reduces the amount of your regular monthly mortgage payment if a life event is expected to decrease your cash-on-hand in the near future. Most often, it is used in times of temporary hardship, like unemployment.

How you could benefit?

For a specific period of time, a forbearance plan can provide short-term mortgage payment relief until you’re in a better financial situation.

Important considerations in a forbearance plan

Your regular monthly mortgage payment may be temporarily suspended or reduced for a specific period, allowing time for your financial situation to improve.
During this time, you’ll have a new monthly mortgage payment to make instead of the payment amount that appears on your monthly statement.
You must contact us on a monthly basis to provide regular updates on your financial status.
At the end of the forbearance period, the payment amounts that were suspended or reduced during the forbearance period accrue and may be added to your mortgage amount. At that time, we’ll work with you and review your financial situation to see if you’re able to repay the forbearance amount, or if a long-term option like a loan modification is available to you. If you cannot keep your home, we’ll explore options that may help you avoid a foreclosure sale. If long-term assistance is not available to you, the total amount of payments that accrued during the forbearance period becomes due and payable.

How your credit may be affected

In most cases, the credit agency or bank will not report a past-due status on one’s account to the consumer reporting agencies.

Fast facts

Ally Bank: Offering payment deferral for up to 120 days with no impact to your credit on home loans for customers affected by COVID-19.
BB&T: Offering mortgage forbearance for a minimum of 90 days for customers impacted by the current crisis.
BMO Harris: Offering payment relief options on mortgages, home equity, loans and credit cards. Contact BMO Harris directly for more information.
Charles Schwab Bank: Offering customers with mortgages or home equity lines of credit through Charles Schwab Bank and Quicken Loans can request payment relief for up to 90 days.
Chase: Offering assistance with mortgage payments. You must call 800-848-9380 for more information.
Citi: Offering various hardship programs for eligible mortgage customers. Call 1-855-839-6253 for more information.
Comerica Bank: Offering loan deferrals on various lending products. Call 888-444-9876 to discuss options for residential mortgage loans.
East West Bank EWBC: Offering temporary mortgage payment relief options for those who are unable to make their mortgage payments due to a disruption of income related to COVID-19.
Fifth Third Bank FITB: Offering 90-day payment forbearance with no late fees on mortgages and home equity loans.
HSBC: Offering financial assistance programs to help with customers’ mortgage or home equity loan payments who have suffered financial hardship. Call 855-806-4657 for more information.
Huntington National Bank HBAN: Offering up to 90 days of payment deferral on all consumer loans, including residential mortgages, for those experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19.
M&T Bank MTB: Offering mortgage and home equity repayment assistance to customers whose income has been reduced due to COVID-19 impact.
New York Community Bank NYCB: Offering 90-day residential mortgage payment forbearances for customers whose income has been negative impacted by events linked to COVID-19.
PNC Bank: Offering to postpone payments for up to 90 days with no late fees for customers with mortgages or home equity loans, among other lending products that are eligible.
Regions Bank: Offering consumer mortgage payment relief upon request for 90 days for those negatively impacted by COVID-19.
SunTrust STI: Offering mortgage forbearance for a minimum of 90 days for customers impacted by the current crisis.
TD Bank: Offering payment deferral program for mortgages and home equity loans or lines of credit, as well as waiving late payment fees on each type of home loan product.
Union Bank: Offering assistance with your mortgage or home equity account. For more information, called 800-237-0561.
U.S. Bank: Offering a payment forbearance up to 90 days with no late fees on mortgages for those negatively impacted by the current crisis.
Webster Bank WBS: Offering options for payment deferrals on mortgages, home equity or personal loans, and small business loans, based on need. Webster is also putting in place a 90-day moratorium on foreclosure of residential loans.
Wells Fargo WFC: Offering payment deferral plans for customers with mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, small business loans and personal loans who have been impacted by COVID-19.

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The information on this page does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as each situation is fact specific and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. The information on this page is solely for the purpose of legal education and is intended to only provide general information about the matters stated therein. The information on this page should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney that practices in the subject area of the matters stated therein. No attorney-client relationship is formed without an actual agreement confirmed in writing. We have attorneys licensed in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.