It may be a little too early to give a solid number at the moment but it is estimated that anywhere between two million and 12.5 million homeowners may be requesting a forbearance on their mortgage due to the virus. If you are out of a job and this might be something you want to consider, we suggest you call your mortgage provider or loan servicer right away to find out what the details are and if there is some sort of deadline.
Initially, the number of home loans in forbearance was at 0.25%. It is now up to 2.66%. That is a pretty significant difference…in just one month! That means it increased by 964%! That is pretty wild and unheard of.
If you do need forbearance, be patient! When you make the phone call, your hold time is going to be much higher than normal. About a month ago, hold time was about two minutes. It is estimated now that hold time is almost eighteen minutes. In the beginning of March, about 5% of people hung up without getting help. That number has now increased to 25%. So we want to remind you to be patient and be nice to whoever is on the other side of the phone. They are trying to help you and it is not their fault…call volume has drastically increased.
As time goes on and money becomes even more of an issue, with so many people not working, it is estimated that these numbers will all increase as well. It is to be expected in the economic climate we are currently in.
If you feel like you will need to call with this request, we recommend that you take notes and ask a lot of questions. We want you to understand everything that will be required of you when you are out of it and what it all means.