Foreclosures and evictions could be halted for rest of 2021

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau eying restrictions on mortgage servicers

(iStock/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)
(iStock/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal)

An onslaught of home foreclosures and evictions could be forestalled for another year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at restrictions on mortgage servicers that would prevent struggling homeowners from going straight into foreclosure.

The agency has proposed a measure to stop mortgage servicers from proceeding with foreclosures until after Dec. 31, according to the New York Times. The idea is to give borrowers more time to get a mortgage modification that reduces their monthly payments.

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Another rule would allow servicers to offer loan modifications to homeowners who have suffered from the pandemic without going through the full review required to adjust a mortgage, the Times reported.

More than 3 million households are past due on their mortgage payments, and nearly 1.7 million will hit the end of their forbearance periods in September, according to the consumer agency, the Times reported.

The agency is seeking public comment on its proposals.

[NYTimes] — Keith Larsen