June 30, 2020

Freddie Mac expands forbearance options for multifamily borrowers

5 minutes

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers an announcement from Freddie Mac Multifamily that it has created three additional forbearance options to assist multifamily borrowers who have been impacted by COVID-19.

For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:

Freddie Mac Multifamily announced Monday that it has created three additional forbearance options to assist multifamily borrowers who have been impacted by COVID-19.

Those options also extend tenant protections.The options include delaying the start of the repayment period following forbearance; an extension of the repayment period; and, an extension of the forbearance period with an optional extended repayment period.

“Many borrowers are still facing hardship even though they may soon exhaust the 90-day forbearance granted in the initial iteration of our COVID-19 relief program,” said Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “These additional relief options will provide more flexibility to borrowers and extend tenant protections for renters who also continue to struggle with the economic effects of the pandemic.”

According to Freddie Mac, any extension of the forbearance period will also extend the prohibition on evicting tenants solely for nonpayment of rent, which was part of its original forbearance program established in response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Following the main story, HousingWire covers a survey from Fannie Mae that shows mortgage servicers want clarity on post-forbearance options for borrowers, and a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association that shows the forbearance share of mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has dropped for the third consecutive week.

The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.

HousingWire articles covered in this episode:

Freddie Mac Multifamily offers new forbearance options and tenant protections

Fannie Mae survey shows mortgage servicers want clarity on post-forbearance options for borrowers

GSE forbearance rate drops for third week, MBA says

...more