MCLEAN, VA -- 'One-Size-Fits-All' Policy Adjusted to Reflect Local Levels of Damage Freddie Mac announced it is extending its foreclosure suspension until May 31, 2006 in 21 counties and parishes in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas that suffered the most severe damage due to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. At the same time, Freddie Mac said it would lift the moratorium on foreclosures in areas that experienced the least damage. The announcement was made in a February 10 Guide Bulletin sent to Freddie Mac's Seller/Servicers.
"We are replacing our one-size-fits-all approach with a zone approach," explained Janet Eakes, senior vice president of Freddie Mac's operations division. "Our servicers have done an outstanding job helping borrowers with Freddie Mac owned loans in the immediate aftermath of the storms. Today's announcement builds on our commitment and on our servicers' commitment to continue to provide relief to borrowers in the worst disaster areas while resuming normal business operations elsewhere."
According to the February 10 Guide Bulletin, the zone approach divides the 119 Gulf Coast counties covered by last year's foreclosure moratorium into three separate zones and applies appropriate policies to each. Specifically,
* Freddie Mac is extending its foreclosure moratorium through May 31 in
Zone 3, which includes the 21 counties and parishes in federally
designated disaster areas where Federal Emergency Management Agency
individual assistance is available;
* Freddie Mac is requiring servicers to obtain Freddie Mac's prior
approval before initiating a foreclosure in Zone 2, which includes 34
counties and parishes with less severe damage;
* Freddie Mac is lifting its blanket foreclosure moratorium in Zone 1,
the remaining 64 counties where there was no or minimal storm damage.
Freddie Mac, however, is strongly encouraging servicers to extend mortgage relief to borrowers with Freddie Mac loans on a case-by-case basis regardless of zone. Freddie Mac authorizes servicers to provide a wide range of mortgage relief to storm victims, including forbearance for up to one year from the date of the disaster. (Freddie Mac mortgage relief options are described in the "Owning and Keeping a Home" section on www.freddiemac.com.)
The February 10 Guide Bulletin instructs servicers to help borrowers strengthen their credit reputations by reporting timely mortgage payments to credit reporting agencies as they bring their mortgages current. Until then, the bulletin reminds servicers not to report storm-related forbearances or bankruptcies to credit bureaus and to waive prepayment premiums for storm victims in some cases.
For more information, lenders can contact their Freddie Mac Account Representative or review the February 10 Guide Bulletin at http://www.freddiemac.com/sell/guide/bulletins.
Freddie Mac Zone Designations by County/Parish
State Zone One Zone Two Zone Three
AL Greene, Hale, Pickens, Choctaw, Marengo. Baldwin,
Sumter, Tuscaloosa. Clarke, Mobile,
Washington.
LA Allen, East Baton Ascension, Assumption, Calcasieu,
Rouge, East Feliciana, Acadia, Beauregard, Cameron,
Evangeline, Iberville, Iberia, Jefferson Jefferson,
Lafayette, Livingston, Davis, Lafourche, St. Orleans,
Pointe Coupee, Sabine, Charles, St. Helena, Plaquemines,
St. Landry, Vernon, St. James, St. John St. Bernard,
West Baton Rouge, The Baptist, St. St. Tammany.
West Feliciana. Martin, St. Mary,
Tangipahoa, Terrebonne,
Vermilion, Washington.
MS Adams, Amite, Attala, Clarke, Greene, George, Hancock,
Choctaw, Claiborne, Forrest, Jasper, Harrison,
Copiah, Covington, Jones, Lamar, Marion, Jackson, Pearl
Franklin, Hinds, Holmes, Perry, Walthall, River, Stone.
Humphreys, Jefferson, Wayne.
Jefferson Davis, Kemper,
Lauderdale, Lawrence,
Leake, Lincoln, Lowndes,
Madison, Neshoba,
Newton, Noxubee,
Oktibbeha, Pike, Rankin,
Scott, Simpson, Smith,
Warren, Winston,
Wilkinson, Yazoo.
TX Angelina, Fort Bend, Chambers, Hardin, Jasper,
Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Sabine, San Jefferson,
Harris, Montgomery, Augustine. Newton, Orange.
Nacogdoches, Polk,
San Jacinto, Shelby,
Trinity, Tyler,
Walker.
Source: Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and nearly four million renters in America. http://www.freddiemac.com/.
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Source: Freddie Mac
CONTACT: Brad German of Freddie Mac, +1-703-903-2437
Web site: http://www.freddiemac.com/
About This Release
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