VA Special Relief Following Hurricane Matthew. VA encourages holders of guaranteed loans to extend forbearance to borrowers in areas that were ravaged by Hurricane Matthew. Careful counseling with borrowers is recommended to help determine whether their difficulties are related to the hurricane or to some other cause that needs to be addressed. Lenders may reapply prepayments to cure or prevent a loan default, or modify the terms of an existing guaranteed loan without the prior approval of VA, provided certain regulatory conditions are met. In addition, VA has requested lienholders institute a 90-day freeze on all new foreclosures on loans affected by Hurricane Matthew. Lienholders must review all foreclosure referrals to ensure that servicers are justified in delaying foreclosure action. Further, the VA asked servicers to waive late charges and to suspend credit bureau reporting on ...