Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced that five major financial institutions will offer mortgage relief for property owners affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.
Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo have committed to offer impacted homeowners a 90-day forbearance of their mortgage payments, without reporting these payments to credit reporting agencies, and the opportunity for additional relief.
“After so much trauma, we hope this deal will provide thousands of survivors a measure of relief,” Newsom said. “These financial protections will enable residents to concentrate on taking care of their immediate needs rather than worrying about paying their mortgage bills. I thank each of the financial institutions that are offering this help for Californians recovering from this catastrophic firestorm.”
The Governor’s Office said Newsom is also engaging with other financial institutions and collaborating with external stakeholders such as the California Bankers Association, the California Credit Union League and the California Mortgage Bankers Association, which have expressed support for the relief efforts.
Additionally, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation is surveying state-chartered financial institutions to confirm additional commitments in the coming days.
As part of Saturday’s announcement, financial institutions will offer qualified borrowers:
- 90-day mortgage payment forbearance periods, streamlined processes for requesting initial relief without submitting forms or documents, payment options that do not require immediate repayment of unpaid amounts (i.e., no balloon payments) at the end of the forbearance period, and the opportunity for additional relief.
- Relief from mortgage-related late fees accruing during the forbearance period for 90 days.
- Protection from new foreclosures or evictions for at least 60 days.
- Institutions will not report late payments of forborne amounts to credit agencies.
The relief is available to qualified residents in Los Angeles County in the following ZIP codes
- 90019
- 90041
- 90049
- 90066
- 90265
- 90272
- 90290
- 90402
- 91001
- 91104
- 91106
- 91107
- 93536
Borrowers must contact their mortgage servicer to obtain relief. A copy of the commitments can be found here.
Source: NBC Los Angeles