Starting July 1st, homeowners struggling to pay mortgages can take advantage of an expansion of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae deferment policy.

Payment deferral allows eligible borrowers to resolve a financial hardship keeping the same monthly mortgage payment by moving past-due amounts to the end of the loan as a non-interest bearing balance, due and payable at maturity, sale, refinance, or payoff. During the pandemic, Freddie and Fannie payment deferral policies were expanded to allow borrowers with COVID-19 hardships to utilize this solution. Given the success of the COVID-19 payment deferral, they are enhancing the standard payment deferral policies available to borrowers experiencing other eligible hardships.

Borrowers facing financial hardship should contact their mortgage loan servicer to discuss whether this is an appropriate solution for their unique circumstances. They may be offered one of several solutions to resolve a delinquency, including the enhanced payment deferral, reinstatement, repayment plan, or loan modification, depending on their individual situations.

Under the deferment program, eligible borrowers may defer payment for two to six months at a time. A qualified borrower can miss a total of 12 months of payments overall, but can’t miss payments for 12 months in a row.

Borrowers who get deferments must wait at least 12 months to apply for another one unless your previous deferments were due to COVID-19 or natural disasters.

In July, the deferment program will be a voluntary option for mortgage servicers, but it will become a mandatory option beginning on October 1, 2023.

How to qualify for mortgage deferment

Forbes Advisor

If you missed a few mortgage payments but are now ready to resume paying your original monthly amount, you may qualify for a mortgage deferment. You may be eligible if your situation meets certain requirements:

• Your mortgage must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. If you’re unsure, you can either ask your servicer or contact Fannie and Freddie by email or phone. Fannie Mae’s phone number is 800-232-6643; Freddie Mac’s is 800-373-3343.
• Your mortgage must be a conventional first-lien mortgage loan. It may, however, be a fixed-rate, a step-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage.
• You must have had your mortgage for at least a year.
• You must have missed more than one mortgage payment. You’ll need to be delinquent by at least 2 months but no more than 6 months, as of the date you get evaluated by your servicer.
• You need to have substantial time left on your mortgage. The loan can’t be within 36 months of its maturity or projected payoff date.
• You need to show that you’ll be able to pay the mortgage going forward. The servicer must be satisfied that whatever hardship caused you to miss payments has been resolved, enabling you to resume your regular mortgage payments.