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Having trouble paying your mortgage in wake of Covid-19? Here are some options
- Posted: April 6, 2020
- By: Nations Lending
The recent coronavirus pandemic has left many homeowners unsure of how to make their next mortgage payment. Mortgage servicers like Nations Lending continue to closely monitor the global pandemic of COVID-19 through reports from the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), other governmental agencies and healthcare providers.
Below are some of steps Loancare, Nations Lending's subservicer, has taken to address customer concerns in this ever-changing environment from a customer service standpoint.
- Created a Dedicated Response Team (“DRT”) to address customer inquiries related to the pandemic.
- Additional resources will be added to the DRT as needed
- Updated our telephony system to allow impacted customers to be directly routed to the DRT
- Conducting ongoing training for the DRT, entire call center, and vendors.
- Created an ongoing customer outreach program through direct email campaigns and websiteupdates to provide updates on relief options to customers
- Implemented daily executive management calls to monitor the current situation.
Customers directly impacted by the pandemic have the options for assistance requests below in addition to
mail, fax and email
- Via Phone: One of our DRT agents will take the customer’s call, place the appropriate indicator on the loan and, if payment assistance is requested, will conduct a brief interview and set the customer up on a forbearance plan.
- Online: Currently, customers may submit a request for assistance online by selecting the Home Retention option on the home page and completing the steps to submit an RMA form.
What Types of assistance is being offered to customers?
- Forbearance Plan: This plan offers the customer an opportunity to reduce or suspend payments for a period of time (typically three to six months but may be extended up to 12 months depending on loan type). While the customer is on a forbearance plan, late fees will not be charged, negative credit bureau reporting will be suppressed, and foreclosure activities will not be initiated. At the end of the forbearance period, full payments will resume, and the unpaid balance will be due. The loan will need to be brought current through reinstatement, repayment plan, or modification to avoid any negative credit impact.
- Repayment Plan: Borrowers may utilize formal or informal repayment plans in order to spread out existing delinquent payments or suspended payments from a forbearance plan. Repayment plan length (either formal or informal) will be based on current servicing guidelines for the specific loan type.
- Loan Modification: Modification options such as those created during the 2017 natural disaster are available options under GSE guidelines in addition to standard loan modification options. FHA, VA and USDA have not announced updated loan modification options from the standard options currently available per their servicing guidelines
- Short Sale or Deed-in-Lieu: These liquidation options are available to impacted borrowers as provided in the relevant servicing guides