Multifamily landlords whose properties are financed with a Freddie Mac fully performing multifamily loan can now defer their loan payments for 90 days by showing hardship as a consequence of COVID-19.
In addition, Freddie Mac is requiring landlords not to evict any tenant based solely on non-payment of rent during the forbearance period, according to a company statement.
Freddie Mac anticipates that the program can provide relief for up to 4.2 million renters across more than 27,000 properties in the U.S.
The loan payment forbearance for the COVID-19 pandemic is modeled after previous programs that Freddie Mac instituted after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and later natural disasters like the California wildfires.
Freddie Mac multifamily loans made up more than 20 percent of total multifamily debt originations in 2019, as a percentage of unpaid principal balances. More than 90 percent of the mortgages purchased support rental units for households earning 120 percent of area median income or below.
“This program is historic in its size, and it has the potential to provide relief to millions of families in multifamily rental homes financed through a Freddie Mac loan,” Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily, said in the statement. “Countless Americans are facing unimaginable hardships, and Freddie Mac is doing what we can to provide relief as our nation addresses this global pandemic.”
The multifamily loan forbearance program comes on the heels of Freddie Mac’s program for single-family homeowners, which allows mortgage payment relief for up to a year without penalties or late fees. It also halted foreclosure sales and evictions of borrowers living in homes owned by the company until at least May 17, 2020.
This article was written by David Winzelberg and published by Long Island Business News. To see the original version of this story, please click HERE