Federal Government Protects Most Homeowners From Foreclosure For 60 Days

The federal government has announced foreclosure protections that will cover the vast majority of American homeowners for the next 60 days, as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Foreclosures will be paused for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That covers most mortgages for single-family homes.

"Borrowers affected by the coronavirus who are having difficulty paying their mortgage should reach out to their mortgage servicers as soon as possible," Mark Calabria, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement.

Closures, cancellations and quarantines have brought the American economy almost to a halt. Congress has also passed one aid package and is already working on another; the foreclosure suspensions are meant to bring additional relief to cash-strapped homeowners.

Most of the nation's renters will not see the benefit of these federal foreclosure protections. However, some renters are protected by state or local authorities that have decided to halt evictions because of the pandemic.

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