COVID-19, the CARES Act and the Impact on Mortgage Forbearance -

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government passed the CARES Act, which provides a number of protections to homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. The CARES Act prohibits any home foreclosures before December 31, 2020, and allows homeowners to seek forbearance from lenders for a period of 180 days, with one extension of 180 days. The Act applies to all federally backed mortgages. Thus, a homeowner with a federally backed mortgage can seek forbearance for up to one year. Since President Trump signed the CARES Act into law on March 27, 2020, most forbearances will not terminate until April or May 2021. To date, the federal government has not sought to extend CARES Act benefits beyond their expiration date.