Forbearance Time Lines
With the extension of forbearance noted in Q1 2021, forbearance time lines for borrowers to exit are all over the map. To qualify for forbearance, borrowers were required to request forbearance and start prior to March 1, 2021. Initial borrowers may have entered in April 2020. The forbearance periods allowed for FEDERAL mortgages is 12 months. However, two additional 3 month extensions may be requested and might be granted, bringing the total forbearance period to 18 months. According to all details released to date, no borrower may go longer than 18 months of forbearance. Initial borrowers in forbearance from (entering by April 1, 2020) could go until 9/30/2021. Those entering forbearance in February 2021 might even be able to continue forbearance until fall of 2022.
As of January 2021, a survey indicated that 75% of mortgages which were in forbearance as of January 2021 had been in forbearance since April 2020. These borrowers may be the least likely to be able to exit forbearance without foreclosure or an alternative method of giving up the home.
