(Reuters) - Freddie Mac (PK:FMCC) said on Wednesday it will suspend sales of foreclosed homes until year-end and will stop until further notice evictions of homeowners in eligible areas devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The U.S. mortgage finance agency said it is working with loan servicers to ensure that no property inspection costs resulting directly from Harvey or Irma are passed on to borrowers who were impacted.
"They may be able to put their mortgage payments on hold for up to one year if their mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac. The first step is for borrowers to contact their mortgage servicers -- the companies they send their payments to each month," Yvette Gilmore, Freddie Mac's vice president of single-family servicer performance management, said in a statement.
Eligible areas for relief are counties or municipalities in Texas and Florida declared as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.