Update1: Citi, Fannie, Freddie Delay Foreclosures for the Holidays
by Tim Manni
UPDATE1: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also decided to delay foreclosure evictions through the holiday season. From December 19 through January 3, Fannie and Freddie will only delay evictions, “Foreclosure processes will continue, however,” writes Ronald D. Orol of MarketWatch.com.
(Original post published on 12/17/09): From today until January 17, Citi will delay evictions and foreclosure sales in an attempt to bring some holiday cheer to struggling homeowners. Citi expects that about 4,000 borrowers nationwide will benefit from the suspension:
It applies only to borrowers whose loans are owned by Citi. Borrowers who make payments to Citi but whose loans are owned by other investors are out of luck.
“We want our borrowers to have a much less stressful time, to spend their time with their families during the holidays as opposed to worrying about their homes,” Sanjiv Das, head of the company’s mortgage division, said in an interview.
Last February, Citi delayed foreclosures for a month as they prepared to implement the president’s sweeping housing rescue plan. According to msnbc.com, Citi’s latest moratorium will allow them to work on “some long-term fundamental alternatives” to foreclosures, but were not specific as to what those alternatives were, says the news source.
Like many of the large banks, Citi has struggled to push a significant amount of permanent loan mods through the Federal system:
Citi has enrolled about 100,000 borrowers in the Obama program, but had made only about 270 of those modifications permanent as of the end of last month, according to a Treasury Department report. But Das said the low number resulted from a “reporting error” and said it will rise dramatically by year-end.
Unfortunately, it seems as though Citi’s holiday cheer won’t improve their numbers since the borrowers that this delay is designed to help have already received their final foreclosure notice.
