Articles Posted in Updates to Law

Forbearance on your mortgage On April 27, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) clarified misinformation that servicers and lending institutions have provided to homeowners. The FHFA clarification will only apply to mortgages that are owned by Fannie-Mae or Freddie-Mac. Specifically, you will not have to make a lump sum payment at the end of…

Servicers are offering forbearance agreement to protect against foreclosure from the Covid-19 Pandemic. The question is “should I sign a forbearance agreement? Forbearance means “patient self-control; restraint and tolerance. The action of refraining from exercising a legal right, especially enforcing the payment of a debt.” Agreement is the “situation in which people have the same…

I wrote a blog on March 25, 2020 titled Maryland Stops Foreclosures and Evictions, due to Covid-19. The topic of that blog was, should you take any proactive steps if you fear that you will not be able to meet your mortgage payments? For many, the question of what to do if you Maryland mortgage…

This is a follow up blog to Coronavirus and Foreclosures, Sales and Evictions and Coronavirus and Foreclosure Maryland has stopped all evictions, including those resulting from foreclosure sales. The question is, should you, the homeowner, take any proactive steps if you fear that you will not be able to meet your mortgage payments? Maryland will…

Don’t fall into a trap by those who suggest that you do not have to pay your mortgage. You do. The issue is, if you cannot pay your mortgage, what you can do to prevent foreclosure. On March 18, 2020, President Trump announced that he was implementing steps to halt foreclosures, sales and evictions until…

Covid-19 Pandemic and Foreclosure The Great Recession of 2008 wreaked havoc on homeowners who could not afford to pay their mortgage. Maryland was among the top three states affected. Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Maryland still ranks among the top three states in the amount of foreclosures per capita. Lessons from the Great Recession can…

People purchase homes to succeed, not to fail. People purchase homes in which to live and raise families, not to default on loans and have a bank kick them out into the street. A bank is a source of money; it is not a source of comfort. If you are looking for an entity with…

Loopholes in the Prior Law: In 2007 the Maryland Legislature closed a loophole in the licensing statute. The original statute defined a debt collector as one “who engages directly or indirectly in the business of . . . collecting for, or soliciting from another, a consumer claim.” A debt collector in Maryland had to be…