Government Eases Foreclosure Rules for Unemployed

Homeowners with FHA loans can wait 12 months to pay mortgage if unemployed
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 8, 2011 11:03 AM CDT
Obama Administration, Housing Crisis: Unemployed Get More Time to Pay Mortgage
A foreclosure sign hangs on a fence in front of a foreclosed home on April 6, 2011 in Richmond, California.   (Getty Images)

The Obama administration is making it easier for out-of-work homeowners to stay in their homes, as it tries to revamp its troubled foreclosure-prevention program. Starting Aug. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments to a full year from three or four months. That will allow thousands of qualified homeowners to go 12 months without making a payment before the foreclosure process begins.

The extended grace period only applies to FHA-backed loans, which are usually given to low- and middle-income borrowers, and represent about 14% of all active mortgages and roughly 25% of new mortgages. Last year, roughly 17,000 homeowners received a government-supported delay on their mortgage payments. About 3,500 borrowers with FHA-insured loans fall behind on their mortgages each month due to unemployment, officials said. (More home loans stories.)

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