May 3, 2011 (Chris Moore)

Freddie Mac is extending its full menu of disaster relief policies for borrowers whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the recent storms in the South that are located in counties that the President has declared to be Major Disaster Areas.

Mortgage servicers at their discretion can reduce or suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months for borrowers with Freddie Mac owned mortgages.

Servicers are also encouraged to help borrowers with Freddie Mac-backed mortgages to waive the assessment of penalties or late fees against borrowers with damaged homes and to not report forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation’s credit bureaus.

“Freddie Mac and the nation’s mortgage servicers will work together to advance available mortgage relief to homeowners affected by these devastating storms,” said Freddie Mac Executive Vice President of Single-Family Business, Operations and Technology, Anthony Renzi. “We have instructed our servicers to work with borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages affected by these terrible storms to grant forbearance on their mortgage payments for up to one year.”

If you have a Freddie Mac-backed mortgage and you need more information, contact your mortgage servicer, the company you send your mortgage payment to, or you can call Freddie Mac at 800-FREDDIE.

Additional information on Freddie Mac’s disaster relief policies is available online at http://www.freddiemac.com/singlefamily/service/disastermgmt.html.

Tags: Freddie Mac, disaster relief policies, Southern Storms, Major Disaster Areas, mortgage payment relief, credit bureaus, mortgage servicer