What Is Trump’s Mortgage Relief Program

Trump Executive Orders Likely Wont Help The Millions Struggling To Pay Rent

President Trumps expected executive order to extend, if not expand, the CARES Acts federal ban on evictions, which recently expired, very likely will prove woefully inadequate to help people experiencing homelessness or the millions of renters struggling to pay rent.

The nation is facing serious rental housing problems that an executive order wont solve. Instead, policy makers should take a comprehensive approach to address them adequately. Such an approach would include:

How Mortgage Relief Refinance Works

Refinancing your mortgage might allow you to extend the payment term or obtain a better interest rate and lower your monthly payment. When refinancing, you are seeking a new loan and using that money to pay off your existing mortgage. Then, you enter into a new loan with new terms.

If you qualify, you might get better terms than your original mortgage. Most commonly, homeowners seek refinancing if interest rates have dropped since they got their mortgage. You might also refinance to consolidate loans, if you have multiple mortgages or home equity lines of credit against your home.

Refinancing because of financial hardship might also be an option. Several lenders offer specific refinancing options for distressed homeowners. Examples include:

• Fannie Mae HIRO: If your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae, you can pursue a High-LTV Refinance Option which allows you to refinance your mortgage even if you have no equity or your mortgage is underwater. To qualify, your loan must have been issued after October 1, 2017 and you must have a history of making timely payments.

• Freddie Mac Enhanced Relief Refinance:With similar eligibility requirements to the HIRO option, this program applies to loans backed by Freddie Mac. It allows homeowners to refinance their mortgages to obtain a lower payment or a more favorable interest rate.

Assistance For American Families And Workers

The COVID-19 public health crisis and resulting economic crisis have created a variety of challenges for families across the country, and changed the way we all live and work. The Treasury Department is providing critical assistance to individuals and their families, ensuring people have the opportunity to keep their families safe and thriving, at work and at home.

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Cdc Hhs Officials Can Decide Whether To Halt Evictions

The Trump administration passed the buck on eviction prevention to Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, saying those officials now have authority to consider whether any measures that temporarily halt evictions of tenants who dont pay rent are reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the text states.

In the order, White House officials are also advising the nations top housing leaders to put their heads together to find opportunities and funds that could help prevent evictions and foreclosures. Under the order, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson is asked to consider providing assistance to public housing authorities, affordable housing owners, landlords and recipients of federal funds, while Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria is instructed to review all existing authorities and resources.

The order doesnt set aside any new funding, instead instructing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to work with Carson on finding any and all available federal funds to provide temporary financial assistance to renters and homeowners whove faced financial hardship because of the crisis and are struggling to make their monthly rent or mortgage payments.

Chesterfield County And Fairfax County Residents

Chesterfield County and Fairfax County administered separate local rent relief programs.

RRP will provide financial assistance on behalf of renters who meet the following criteria:

• RRP may be able to provide rent relief for households who have experienced a negative financial impact due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Do any of the below statements apply to you for a loss of income or increase of expenses during COVID-19?

• You have been laid off.

• Your place of employment has closed.

• You have experienced a reduction in hours of work.

• You must stay home to care for children due to closure of day care and/or school.

• You must stay home to care for children due to distance learning.

• You have lost or experienced a reduction in child or spousal support.

• You have been unable to find employment due to COVID-19.

• You are unwilling or unable to participate in employment due to risk of illness from COVID-19.

• INCREASE IN EXPENSES

• You have had an increase in childcare expenses.

• You have had an increase in medical expenses.

• You have had an increase in food costs.

• You have had an increase in utility costs.

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What Are Some Of The Restrictions

While mortgage relief programs can offer a lot of assistance, there are some restrictions that you should be aware of. First, most programs are only available to homeowners facing genuine financial hardship.

You likely wont qualify for assistance if youre behind on your payments but still can make them. Additionally, most programs have income requirements that you must meet to be eligible.

Finally, programs typically have deadlines by which you must apply. So, if you think you may need assistance, its essential to act quickly and not wait until the last minute to apply.

Consider enrolling in a relief program if youre having trouble paying your mortgage. These programs might provide much-needed support while also assisting you in keeping your house.

Combined Ibr And Subsidized Stafford Loan Proposal

Next we combine the effects of Trumps proposal to eliminate Subsidized Stafford loans with the changes to IBR. We have already described how a borrower who fully repays his loans pays more in total due to the loss of Subsidized Stafford loans because the borrower leaves school with a larger loan balance that now includes accrued interest from the time spent in school. However, if the same borrower receives loan forgiveness under the Trump proposal, that additional debt is forgiven anyway. While the borrower leaves school with a higher loan balance under the Trump proposal, the extra interest is forgiven and then some if the borrower uses IBR: total payments under the Trump proposal are less than they are under the current IBR program with Subsidized Stafford loans. The Trump proposal delivers larger benefits even with the loss of Subsidized Stafford loans for borrowers who use IBR and qualify for loan forgiveness.

We can illustrate this using the two earlier examples. For the first example, we treat the borrowers $15,000 loan balance as Subsidized Stafford loans. To simulate the loss of that benefit we assign him a higher initial balance when he begins repayment to reflect the additional accrued interest. Under current law the borrower starts repayment with a $15,000 balance and repays it using the current IBR program under the Trump proposal the balance begins at $16,950 and is repaid using the Trump IBR proposal.

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Debt Validation Vs Settlement

With validation, you are challenging the validity of each third-party collection account. Surprisingly, many collection agencies will then quickly agree to stop collection on the debt and even remove it from a persons credit report entirely.

If a debt is proven valid, debt settlement offers the creditor a fraction of the balance owed. Whats the catch? The reduced payoff must get paid in one lump sum payment. For example, if a person owes $10,000, debt settlement could reduce a credit card debt to $5,000 . Creditors agree to this reduction in debt because without the settlement, they may not recoup anything. In reality, the banks never really lose money. When a person defaults on credit card payments, the banks recover their money by showing the debt as a loss and getting a tax credit that same year. The bank always gets paid back in full and even faster when a person defaults on payments compared to if that same person continued to pay only minimum payments for the next ten years.

The Pros And Cons Of Down

Eliminating the Chenoa Fund is likely to hit areas that are the most dependent on the upfront mortgage sweeteners, says Whipple. States where more than 40% of buyers tap down-payment assistance include: Alaska, Mississippi, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Virginia, according to the Urban Institute.

Already, renters have opted out of leases as their home-closing date nearsonly to learn their much-needed assistance is in jeopardy, he says.

However, former FHA head Ed Golding, now an adviser to the Urban Institute, says HUD is correct to rein in national down-payment groups. He and the feds arent as concerned with community-based housing programs that provide assistance to much smaller numbers of local buyers.

After all, the housing crisis a decade ago was set off when buyers who werent able to afford their loans began defaulting on them.

You dont want the allow the riskier part of the market to hurt what is important, says Golding.

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Biden Administration May Undo Certain Trump

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a statement Tuesday saying it may reconsider mortgage standards .
• The CFPB issued the rules in December, when Kathy Kraninger, an appointee of President Donald Trump, was head of the agency.
• Consumer advocates believe the rules may promote the sort of risky borrowing that led to the financial crisis in 2008.

The Biden administration hinted it may dismantle mortgage rules inked during the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Those Trump-era rules erase protections for borrowers and may open the door to risky loans that led the housing bubble to burst in the 2008 financial crisis, according to some consumer advocates.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Tuesday it is considering whether to “revisit” the rules, issued in December when Trump appointee Kathy Kraninger led the agency.

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The bureau is charged with protecting consumers from abuse and predatory practices in credit cards, loans and other common financial services. It was created in 2011.

The new Trump-era measures the Seasoned QM and General QM rules relate to certain residential loans for homeowners. They rewrite protections codified in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law after the Great Recession.

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Why Trumps Policies Could Increase Reverse Mortgage Demand

No matter your political stripe, presidential transitions mark a time of change and uncertaintyafter eight years of policies shaped by one administration, another one comes along with a different perspective and plan for governance.

If youre nearing retirement, that anxiety could be amplified: What would a new administration mean for your future as you exit the workforce and enter the next exciting phase of your life?

Reverse mortgages have recently come into the spotlight within the Trump Administrations outlook on housing and health care costs that the senior population will face.

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Payroll Tax Deferral Not A Cut

In his executive order, Trump added a provision that would revamp payroll taxes, a method that was quickly losing traction in Congress by members of both parties for being an ineffective form of economic stimulus.

But the memorandum doesnt reduce payroll taxes, which are paid by employers to fund certain entitlement programs and currently set at 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare.

Instead, it kicks those payments down the road. The executive order defers those payments starting on Sept. 1, 2020, and through the rest of the year. It specifically applies to employees who make less than $4,000 bi-weekly on a pre-tax basis, or $104,000 annually, the action states.

Trump has adjusted taxes before by way of executive order, with the president extending the tax deadline from April 15 to July 15 due to the pandemic. But legal lines are still blurred, with Congress normally having sole authority over adjusting tax laws.

Its also unclear how much the order will benefit businesses. Trump has previously claimed that any adjustments to payroll taxes could spur more business investment. Those who are under fiscal pressure now might not be as much down the road when the bill comes due.

The cuts also risk putting the already cash-strapped Social Security and Medicare programs under more financial strain, though the president promised to protect them in a Sunday statement.

Is There A Mortgage Relief Program In 2022

With the impact of Covid waning, Congress has wound down much of its Covid-era mortgage stimulus.

Fortunately, there are still mortgage relief programs available to homeowners who need them.

Mortgage relief can come in many forms. Whether you need a lower rate and payment or a break from making payments altogether, there are options. Heres what to do.

In this article

• Do you qualify?

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The 45th President Was Chained To Money

The day Donald Trump left the White House, his business was facing $900 million of debt coming due in the next four years. Working through those loans would have been a significant undertaking for any firm, but the Trump Organization was contending with additional challenges. Deutsche Bank, Trumps longtime lender, was reportedly looking to end its relationship with the real estate mogul. Two other financial institutions, Signature Bank and Professional Bank, had spread the word that they were cutting ties in the wake of January 6, 2021. Meanwhile, the Manhattan district attorney was getting close to charging the Trump Organization with a series of financial crimes, including falsifying business records, conspiracy and fraud.

Soon plenty of people were trumpeting the end of an era. The indictment of the Trump Org will likely result in its destruction as a viable entity, Richard Signorelli, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, tweeted in June 2021. No bank will ever do business with an indicted company, Dan Goldman, a onetime prosecutor who served as lead counsel during Trumps first impeachment trial, said on MSNBC, calling an indictment almost a death blow to the Trump Organization.

Money Pit: The Trump International Hotel in Washington hemorrhaged cash and regularly needed bailouts. The buyers hope the new Waldorf Astoria brand will attract patrons of all political stripes.

Brian Irwin/AlamySteve Mack/Alamy

DEBT MAGIC

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Relief To Mail Delivery

• The U.S. Postal Service will receive a $10 billion line of credit. On April 24, Trump attempted to use this loan as leverage for a new demand, as he threatened to block the emergency funding if the post office did not quadruple its prices for online retailers. As of early May, the details of the loan were still being negotiated.
• $400 million will be allocated to help states prepare for an expected increase in mailed ballots in .

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Alternative Ways To Resolve High

You can transfer your high-interest credit card balances to either a low-interest balance transfer card or a low monthly payment home equity line of credit.

Home equity lines of credit offer the lowest monthly payment and usually include low-interest rates.

Both of these options come with their own set of risks.

When it comes to balance transfer credit cards, they include an up-front fee of between 3%-5% of the total debt amount being transferred on to the card. Thats not the only slap in the face that youll get with a balance transfer card, more is coming. The 0% interest rate only lasts for 6-18 months after that, the interest rate can skyrocket above 20%. Make sure to pay off your entire balance during the intro-period while the rate is at 0%, or else balance transfer cards can cost you even more in the end. Also, dont forget to add in that up-front fee when doing the math on how much youll pay when using a balance transfer card.

No matter which debt relief option you end up choosing, start by using the budget tool that we share below. Figure out what type of monthly payment you can comfortably afford to pay. You can then use a debt calculator to calculate how fast you can pay off your debts.

Mortgage Relief Options From Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac

Homeowners with conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac have options for mortgage relief.

If youre experiencing a temporary hardship, its not too late to ask about forbearance. Theres currently no deadline to make an initial forbearance request with your loan servicer.

If you have a conventional loan, theres currently no deadline to make an initial forbearance request with your loan servicer.

In addition, Fannie and Freddie recently came out with expanded refi programs that make it easier and cheaper to lower your interest rate and mortgage payment.

Fannie Maes RefiNow and Freddie Macs Refi Possible are designed for low- to moderate-income homeowners. You might qualify if you make average or below-average income for your area.

These refinance programs have unique benefits that can offer financial relief to homeowners, including:

• Lower mortgage rate and monthly payment
• Reduced closing costs with no appraisal fee
• Easier debt-to-income qualification

These new loan options can offer big savings for homeowners who might not otherwise qualify to refinance.

You can check your areas median income using Fannie Maes lookup tool and Freddie Macs lookup tool.

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How To Get An Fha Cash

Do your research before you begin to consider an FHA cash-out refinance to make sure that you qualify and have everything required to apply.

Applying for an FHA cash-out refinance is similar to buying a home. There are similar considerations when it comes to credit, debt, and income, as well as an importance in budgeting and saving for the appraisal and closing costs in advance. This should be your first step in considering how much time you will need to prepare for an FHA cash-out refinance.

Take the time to bring up your credit score and save money for closing costs, if necessary. If you have a missed or late mortgage payment in the previous 12 months, you must wait until you have made 12 consecutive months of on-time payments to apply. Although FHA cash-out refinance loans are ideal for those with low credit, it is still a good idea to have a credit score of at least 600 before applying. Request copies of your credit reports if you suspect that your credit is not high enough.

Once youve decided that you would qualify for an FHA cash-out refinance, contact an expert before approaching your lender. Be sure to have your paperwork ready, including your current mortgage, documents outlining your other loans, as well as your income statements. Check with your lender to determine if you would require any additional documentation.