These are unprecedented and anxiety provoking times for many of us. Please know that I am working (from home) and here for you as a resource. We are keeping up to date with our industry and lender partners and following the media. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’ve spoken with many of you, and I will be reaching out by email or phone.
There has been a lot of information regarding income and debt relief for both employees and business owners during this current COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a summary and clarification of debt relief options to help you find resources applicable to your situation. We will be sending out a follow up summary of income relief.
In a nutshell – mortgage and credit facility relief being made available by lenders is a temporary solution on a case by case basis determined by need. The recent announcements apply to customers dealing with financial hardship directly driven by COVID-19. There are also options for clients experiencing difficulties unrelated to COVID-19. It is important to understand that deferrals are exactly that, a deferral, it is not debt forgiveness and is intended to provide peace of mind. Lenders will be providing customized solutions to ease the burden of payments for clients experiencing a reduction or loss of income, who do not have resources available to tide them over. If you have a rainy-day fund, this is one of the rainy days it was intended for. If you feel like you may have difficulty making payments, lenders have asked that you first refer to information on their websites. This is so that they can assist those in immediate need.
If you are experiencing a loss of income; whether you are out of work, are sick or quarantined or helping to care for someone who is, and, you do not have any resources to help you during this time, then your lender will work with you to customize a solution.
There are various options, and not all are available with all lenders
- reduce payments back down if you had increased them, or eliminate extra payments
- change payment dates
- skip or defer payments
- switch to interest only
- other potential options
Regardless of what is offered, if you defer your payments, it will add to your balance. It’s intended as relief to reduce outgoing payments for clients whose income is affected. If possible, we should continue to make our payments and keep liquidity in the market, while still keeping a contingency for essentials.
Most lenders have set up specific contact points (email or phone or both) and dedicated teams to assist clients. The volume of inquiries is high, so please have patience. If you need a contact point or want to discuss your situation, please reach out to me. I will provide you with any contact info I have, and we can discuss your situation. In this way, we can help reduce the volume facing lenders, and free them up to help those most in need.
Please find below a summary of lender contact numbers for you to reach out to if need be. If your specific lender is not listed here, or if you have any other questions/concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at julie@lifestylemortgage.pro or (778) 318-1799.
Hope you are staying safe and well.
All the best,
Julie Isaac
