Freddie Mac Announcement
April 21st, 2010
Freddie Mac issued an Announcement titled Important Reminder for Doing Business in Rhode Island and other Areas Included in Major Disaster Areas.
We are committed to seeking ways to provide assistance to borrowers – especially when their homes have been impacted by a disaster-related event. While the full impact from storms and floods in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey and West Virginia is still being assessed, borrowers may experience disruptions in their ability to make their mortgage payments on time if they had to temporarily relocate or their homes were damaged. We are asking Freddie Mac Servicers and Sellers to be responsive to any requests for assistance from borrowers affected by these and other disaster-related events.
Due to the amount of destruction, the President issued a Major Disaster Declaration for certain counties in the impacted states, and federal individual assistance programs are available. A list of eligible counties is available on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Web site. FEMA’s Web site lists all Disaster Declarations by year and state, and indicates the type of assistance programs that are available per county or parish. In the interest of protecting financial interests of borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages, where federal individual assistance programs are made available, Servicers must immediately begin following the disaster relief requirements outlined in Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Chapter 68 for borrowers in areas included in the declarations, as appropriate, based on the merits of each case. These include:
- Short-term suspension of collection and foreclosure for up to 12 months from the date a disaster strikes, based on the relative merits of each case so borrowers can obtain disaster relief and file insurance claims.
- Not assessing late charges or reporting to credit repositories for borrowers on forbearance or repayment plans.
- Monitoring and coordinating the insurance claim process.
Sellers should be prepared to address property damage as a result of disaster-related events, per Guide Section 44.2(c). We encourage Sellers to review Guide Section 22.20 about circumstances that adversely affect the value of a mortgage, including condemnation. Sellers should also review Guide Section 44.2(a), which requires Sellers to warrant that improvements must be undamaged by fire, windstorm, and other perils.
For more information:
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Contact 800-FREDDIE, your servicing representative, or account manager.
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Review Guide Chapter 68 for disaster relief policies.
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Review Guide Sections 22.20, 44.2(b), and 44.2(c) for Seller responsibilities when a disaster occurs.
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Visit
FEMA’s Web site
to find out what areas are a part of the President’s Major Disaster Declarations.
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Learn more about Freddie Mac’s
disaster relief policies
.
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Visit our
Learning Center
for educational resources on disaster relief.
To view the online Announcement, please click
here
About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 700 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.