Data indicates that a significant number of homeowners are having difficulty making mortgage payments when their COVID-19 aid ends.
A report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealed many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments after exiting COVID-19 hardship forbearances. The report was sourced from data by 16 large mortgage servicers between May and December 2021 and revealed that homeowners continue to face significant risks and challenges when it comes to paying their mortgages. "While many mortgage servicers are successfully assisting borrowers to avoid foreclosure, today's report highlights that some servicers are lagging their peers and are less well-equipped to assist borrowers who have exited pandemic housing protections," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said. "We will be closely monitoring mortgage servicer performance to ensure that they are meeting their obligations under the law." Homeowners are struggling to transition back into restarting their monthly payments, the report showed. By the end of 2021, 330,000 borrowers’ mortgage loans were delinquent and no longer in forbearance. These homeowners had no loss mitigation in place. One challenge that many homeowners cited in the CFPB's data was their inability to reach their mortgage servicer’s call center or get a timely response. "Mortgage servicer call centers are vital links between the homeowner and servicer that answer homeowners’ questions and provide them with information to make important decisions about their loans," the CFPB stated in its report. "The extent of these challenges varied significantly among servicers." In April 2021, the CFPB warned mortgage servicers to prepare for a surge of homeowners who'd need assistance, saying "unprepared is unacceptable." Call metrics showed average hold times of more than 10 minutes and that call abandonment exceeded 30% for some mortgage servicers. Many metrics also indicated that borrowers have difficulty getting a live contact on the phone to discuss their mortgage questions.
Source: Fox Business