Apartment dwellers must be given the “flexibility” to repay back rent over time. However, the new guidance shouldn’t be interpreted by tenants as a get-out-of-jail-free card. As FHFA Director Mark Calabria put it: “If tenants are able to pay their rent, they should continue to do so.”
With FHA late payments accelerating in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, all eyes turn to the financial health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Is it time to worry?
In the announcement extending the policy, FHFA Director Mark Calabria offered a defense of the stiff surcharges, saying, “Lenders have a responsibility to ensure that borrowers can make their monthly payment.”
The added cost associated with servicing a mortgage in forbearance gives servicers an incentive “not to follow the mandates of the CARES Act and implementing guidance,” investigators said.
Wade takes the helm of the government’s mortgage insurer at a tumultuous time: FHA production is strong but the COVID-19-related forbearance rate on such loans are beginning to inch up as the employment picture worsens.