Forbearance is over, but you have plenty of options to work it out.
Forbearance is over—are you going to lose your home? I’m here to talk about your options. Forbearance was put in place during the pandemic because a lot of people were out of work and couldn’t pay their mortgages. The mortgage companies allowed homeowners to skip their payments for up to a year and effectively parked that money. It wasn’t forgiven; they just allowed owners to repay it later.
Even though forbearance has ended, you still might be in a great position as a homeowner. In 2021, we saw a 19% increase in home prices, so you have more equity in your home. Chances are, you can sell and still have money in your pocket after closing. If you’re in this sort of equity position, forbearance isn’t an issue for you.
The next option is to refinance. You may be able to work something out with your current lender. If not, you can move to a new lender, roll the year of missed payments into the new loan, and have a great interest rate. If you haven’t refinanced in the last 18 months, you might end up with a lower rate than you have now and save a bit of money.
The final option is to talk with your lender and work out a repayment schedule. Since forbearance effectively paused your payments, you may be able to continue paying your same rate. In this case, that extra payment might come due when you sell or pay off your loan.
Just because forbearance is over doesn’t mean the sky is falling. You still have plenty of options. If you have any questions, just give my team a call at 919-675-9967. We would love to talk with you and put you in touch with a few of our lenders.
