Will evictions and foreclosure ever resume?

Since being inaugurated, President Biden has by executive order extended federal moratoriums on evictions, foreclosures, and student loan repayments first implemented by the CARES Act, the CDC, and the previous administration.

Although recorded recently, some of the timelines in this episode have already changed. As of this post:

• Evictions for purposes of COVID are postponed under CDC guidelines until March 31, 2021 (although rumor is this will extend to September 2021);
• Foreclosures are postponed until February 28, 2021 or March 31, 2021 depending on the owner of the loan; and
• Student Loan payment, interest, collection on federal loans held by the US Department of Education are suspended until September 2021.

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What should you know?

Evictions - the CDC prevents evictions if the reason for eviction is due to a loss of income caused by COVID. This only impacts residential evictions, and the CDC has five requirements that the tenant must attest to under penalty of perjury. If one of those five requirements is missing, it is probable that the tenant could still be evicted.

The CDC has not (and cannot) eliminate the requirement to pay rent. There is rental assistance available to the tenants to catch up on most or all of their unpaid rent.

Foreclosures - FHA and FHFA have suspended all foreclosures and bank-owned evictions until February 28 or March 31, 2021 (unless extended again). The CARES Act requires lenders to offer a repayment plan, and many lenders can modify the loan, but cannot require a lump sum to catch up past due payments missed due to economic factors caused by COVID. The CARES Act does not eliminate the requirement to pay mortgage payments.

Student loans - For federal loans owned by the US Department of Education, there is a suspension of payments, interest accrual and collection, until October 2021.

If you have specific questions, please reach out to [email protected].

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Stay safe, get a vaccine, wash your hands, social distance, and please be nice to each other!