Many people are out of work, struggling to pay their mortgage payment, one of their biggest bills that comes every month. As the government announced, those with federally back loans could delay their payments, local mortgage lenders want to make sure families protect themselves.
Milestone mortgage says the best place to start is knowyouroptions.com. That's going to help identify what type of loan you have and direct you to the right people.
"There's a lot of information online about it. But also call the mortgage servicer. The mortgage servicer is who sends you the statement," said Fabio Passos.
Fabio Passos, who has roughly 20 years of experience as a mortgage lender, says once you've tracked down your service lender, ask about interest rates on their current forbearance loan, and most importantly, don't just stop paying.
"So if they haven't set a forbearance agreement or deferment agreement with the lender or with the servicer of the loan, then not making the mortgage payment is going to hurt their credit," said Passos.
A forbearance loan will prevent a person from being penalized for late payments. However, Passos says there's one more option to ask about.
"There are a few servicer that have a few better options than forbearance. There's an option called mortgage deferment," said Passos.
Similar to a student loan, the amount owed won't be expected to be paid right away like a forbearance loan and won't increase your overall mortgage payment.
"It would be less impactful on their finances," said Passos.
The owner of Milestone mortgage wants to stress not to wait to contact your service loan company. He says to do it before May 1st to ensure there's no major ding on your credit report.
