Home for the holidays: Eviction moratorium

Dec. 13, 2013 – Many U.S. homeowners facing eviction won’t lose their homes over the two-week holiday at the end of December. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the mortgage giants that buy loans from banks and control roughly half the mortgages in the U.S. – offered a similar no-eviction program in previous years.

Fannie Mae will suspend evictions of foreclosed single family and 2-4 unit properties from Dec. 18, 2013, through Jan. 3, 2014. Legal and administrative proceedings for evictions may continue, but families living in foreclosed properties will be allowed to remain in their home.

“We encourage any homeowner who is having difficulty making their mortgage payment to reach out for help right away,” says Terry Edwards, chief operating officer for Fannie Mae. “Fannie Mae will continue to help borrowers avoid foreclosure whenever possible.”

Freddie Mac released a similar announcement, saying it ordered its eviction attorneys to suspend all evictions involving foreclosed occupied single family and 2-4 unit properties that had Freddie Mac-owned mortgages between Dec. 19, 2009 and Jan. 3, 2010.

“In these extraordinary times, we want to provide a greater measure of certainty to these families during the holidays,” says Freddie Mac CEO Ed Haldeman.

A few national mortgage service firms that have not sold a mortgage to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac also made announcements that they would halt evictions over the holidays. Wells Fargo, for example, will suspend evictions from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2. Chase will not evict from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2.

Other mortgage service companies could also participate.

© 2013 Florida Realtors®