Is my home protected from foreclosure?

Congress’ passage of the CARES Act goes very far in protecting Nebraska homeowners from possibly losing their home. As mentioned previously on an article about requesting a mortgage forbearance, your protection is based on whether your mortgage is federally backed. Refer to that article to determine whether your mortgage is secured by the federal government. Even if your mortgage isn’t backed by the federal government, your mortgage company may be offering similar programs to stave off foreclosure.

Pre-Coronavirus Foreclosures

If you were facing possible foreclosure prior to the enactment of the CARES Act on March 18, 2020, the CARES Act imposes a minimum 60 day moratorium on federally backed mortgage companies from foreclosing on Nebraska homeowner’s property. As of the date of this article (April 16, 2020) there is approximately 31 days remaining (May 17, 2020) before mortgage servicers can resume the foreclosure process or sale.

What can I do before the foreclosure moratorium ends to save my home?

If you were behind on your mortgage prior to the President’s national emergency declaration in March and going through the foreclosure process it is imperative you contact your mortgage servicer and request a 180 day forbearance as outlined in the mortgage forbearance article. This will give you some breathing room and allow you to work with your mortgage company for a long term solution to keep your home like payment deferral, loan modification, or refinance.

What should I do if I’m current on my mortgage payments, but may not be very soon?

If you are not currently in the foreclosure process but not current on your mortgage payments, you are protected from the mortgage company initiating a foreclosure until after May 17, 2020. In order to protect the home and give you time to catch up, you should seek the mortgage forbearance mentioned above.

If you are current on your mortgage payments, but suspect you may not be able to keep up with your payments due to furlough or employment loss, you should again seek a mortgage forbearance as a proactive approach to protect your home and give you time to work out a solution.

What if nothing can be worked out and the foreclosure process begins?

If after the forbearance period ends and no workable plan is worked out with your mortgage company, the filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to protect your home from foreclosure while allowing you a period of 3 to 5 years time to catch up on missed payments, seek a loan modification, or refinance your mortgage.

Warning: Watch for Scams

You should be careful of scammers posing as lenders, mortgage brokers, or real estate attorneys. Individuals target struggling homeowners claiming they will renegotiate their mortgage loans or help them apply for mortgage assistance or forbearance. Homeowners agree to send payments to these people to help them, but by the time the homeowner realizes the scam they’ve lost money and still facing foreclosure.