The CARES Act provides mortgage relief options for homeowners financially impacted by COVID-19. It establishes a 60-day foreclosure moratorium and allows homeowners with federally backed loans to request a 180-day forbearance with a potential 180-day extension and no penalties. The Act also creates a COVID-19 partial claim option to help homeowners reinstate loans after forbearance. To qualify, a homeowner's mortgage must be backed by an agency like FHA, VA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Homeowners in hardship should contact their servicer to discuss forbearance and other options.

1. The CARES Act Relief Bill and How it Can Help You as a Homeowner
What is the C.A.R.E.S. Act ReliefBill andHow Can it Help Youas a Homeowner?

2. The CARES (Coronavirus Aid,Relief,andEconomicSecurity)Actisa newfederal lawandrelief programforhomeownersthatmaybe experiencingsevere
financial hardshipdue tothe coronaviruspandemic.Thisactprovidesapaymentdefermentoptiontothose whohave afederally-backedsingle-familymortgage
or federallybackedmulti-familymortgages.Here are the three majorupdatesthatcome fromthe CARES Act:
1. A Foreclosure Moratorium
First,yourlenderorloan servicermaynotforeclose onyoufor60 days afterMarch 18, 2020. Specifically,the CARESActprohibitslendersandservicersfrom
beginningajudicial ornon-judicialforeclosureagainstyou,orfromfinalizingaforeclosure judgmentorsale,duringthistime.
A foreclosure moratoriumsuspendsorstopsa foreclosure.Dependingonyourloanand whoyour mortgage serviceris,youroptionsmayvary.
2. Mortgage Forbearance
Second,if youexperience financial hardshipdue tothe coronaviruspandemic,youhave arightto requesta forbearance forupto 180 days. Youalso have the
rightto requestone extensionforanotherupto180 days.You mustcontact your loanservicertorequestthisforbearance.Therewillbe noadditional fees,
penaltiesoradditional interest(beyondscheduledamounts) addedtoyouraccount.You donot needtosubmitadditional documentationtoqualifyotherthan
your claimto have a pandemic-relatedfinancial hardship.
Mortgage forbearanceis when a mortgageservicer allowsyouto pause or reduce your payments fora limitedtime.
A forbearance doesnot mean forgivenessand doesn’terase what you owe – you’ll haveto repay any missedor reducedpayments inthe future.
3. COVID-19 National Emergency Partial Claim
Thisan optionto be usedby servicerswhenthe COVID-19forbearance periodends.Thispartial claimwillhelpeligiblehomeownerswhohave beengranted
special COVID-19National Emergencyforbearance toreinstatetheirloansbyauthorizingservicerstoadvance fundsonbehalf of homeowners. The partial claim
will deferthe repaymentof those advancesthroughaninterest-free subordinate mortgage thatthe borrowerdoesnothave topayoff until theirfirstmortgage
ispaid off.
Do I have to make my first paymenton my mortgage I recentlyclosedon?
YES! Thisis a reallyimportantquestion.Regardlessof the type of mortgage (i.e.Conventional,FHA,VA,USDA) orsituation,if youdon’tmake yourfirstpayment
on the mortgage yourecentlyclosedon,itwill be consideredFRAUDandthere will be otherramificationsthatcome fromthat.Evenif youhave lostyour jobor
recentlybeenfurloughedfromyouremployerdue tothe currentmarketsituationsorCOVID-19,youneedtodo everythinginyourpowertomake thatfirst
payment.Afterthat,the forbearance optionscancome intoplayaswell as other optionstosupportyou.
Who can qualifyforthismortgage relief assistance?
To be eligible forprotectionsunderthe CARESAct yourmortgage mustbe federallyownedorotherwise backedbyone of the federalagenciesandentitieslisted
below.If youdonot knowwhoownsor backs your mortgage,youcan call your servicer.The servicerhasanobligationtoprovideyou,to the bestof its
knowledge,the name,address,andtelephone numberof whoownsyourloan.

3. List of federal agenciesand entities
U.S. Departmentof HousingandUrban Development(HUD) U.S. Departmentof Agriculture USDA DirectUSDA GuaranteedFederalHousingAdministration
(FHA) (Includesreverse mortgages) U.S.Departmentof VeteransAffairs(VA) FannieMae Freddie MacNearlyhalf of the nation’smortgagesare ownedor
backedby Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
To look up online whetheryour mortgage is ownedor backedby Fannie or Freddie,clickthese links:
Is myloan backedbyFannie Mae ?
Is myloan backedbyFreddie Mac ?
If you are notfacingan immediate financial hardship,keepmakingyourmortgage paymentif youcan.
A forbearance isa lastresortoption.If youhave the meanstocontinue makingyourpayments,we highlysuggestthatyoucontinue doingso.Mortgage servicers
are takinga lotof callsand will be helpingthose whoare experiencingextreme financial hardship.We willalsodiscussother repaymentoptionsthisbill covers
later.
You must call your mortgage servicerto inquire about your forbearance options
1. Call your mortgage servicerandaskthemwhat forbearance orhardshipoptionsmaybe available toyou.Youdon’tneedtosubmitanydocumentsupfrontto
qualifyforthisfinancial relief option,however,we wouldadvise youtokeepdocumentationfromyouremployerif youhave beenfurloughed.Keeparecordof
any bankstatementorpaystubsthat wouldsupportyourpetitionforassistancelaterdownthe road.
2. Set upa writtenagreementbefore youstopmakingyourmortgage payments.Askyourservicertoprovide writtendocumentationof youragreementand
make sure you are clear onthe terms.Thisforbearance optionistobe usedas a last resort.
Mortgage Forbearanceand Repayment Examplesto GuideYou:
Here are examplesofwhat your servicer may discusswith youas options:
1. Pause your payments and pay themlater: Your servicermayallowyouto deferyourpaymentsuptoone year.Your missingmortgage paymentsmaybe
addedon to the back endof your mortgage,therefore,extendingyourloanterm.
2. Pay partial payments: Your servicermayallowyoutoreduce yourpaymentsbyhalf for upto three months.Afterthose three months,youwill be responsible
to pay the missingpaymentswithinone year.
For all of these optionsabove, interestonthe pausedamounts will continue to accrue until you repay them.

4. What to do once you've setup your mortgage reliefoptionwithyour servicer:
 Keepwrittendocumentationof youragreement.
 Continue tocheckyourmonthlymortgage statement.
 Watch your creditreport:Checkyourcreditreport tomake sure everythinglookscorrectandthat there are no errorsor inaccuracies.If youdo notset
up a forbearance agreementandyoustoppayingyourmortgage,itcan negativelyaffectyourcredit.
 Whenyour income isrestored, contactyourservicerandresume payingyourmortgage.
FAQ's/ FrequentlyAskedQuestions:
Will gettinga forbearance or deferringmy paymentsaffect my credit score?
If you setup a paymentplanor forbearance agreement,yourloanservicerwill notcharge youlate feesorcontact the creditbureauswithlate payment
information.However,due tothe ever-changingeconomicclimate,we advise youtocontactyour mortgage servicerforthe mostup to date information.
Is a forbearance the bestoption for me?
We highlyencourage youtoseekandexhaustall otheroptionsbefore pursuingamortgage forbearance.Thisoptionistobe usedasa lastresortfor those who
are experiencingextreme financialhardshipdue tothe coronaviruspandemic.Talktoyourservicerif youhave anyquestionsaboutyourrepaymentoptions.
Is my state offeringadditional mortgage reliefoptions?
Many statesare consideringvarioustypesof mortgage relief optionsandadditionalassistance forhomeowners.We recommendthatyoucheckyourstate’s
governmentwebsite fordetails.
References andAdditional Resources:
Guideto coronavirusmortgagerelief options
What you needto know about student loansand the coronavirus pandemic
VIDEO: CARES Act Mortgage Forbearance: WhatYou Need to Know
Beware of scams relatedto the coronavirus
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-forbearance-en-289/
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDARD/bulletins/28495b1
https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_20_048

5. View & download original content @ https://www.sunamerican.com/the-cares-act-relief-bill-and-how-it-can-help-you-as-
a-homeowner/