Fannie Mae is reminding homeowners and renters impacted by the recent tornadoes in communities across Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi of available mortgage assistance and disaster relief options. Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines for single-family mortgages impacted by a natural disaster:

• Homeowners may request mortgage assistance by contacting their mortgage servicer (the company listed on their mortgage statement) following a disaster.
• Mortgage servicers are authorized to offer forbearance for up to 90 days – even without establishing contact with the homeowner – if the servicer believes the home was affected by the disaster.
• Homeowners affected by a disaster are often eligible to reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 12 months. During this temporary payment break, homeowners will not incur late fees and foreclosure and other legal proceedings are suspended.
• Following the payment break, there are a number of options available to potentially help homeowners catch up on missed payments, including Disaster Payment Deferral.