Foreclosures Postponed in Florida for 45 Days – Destin FL

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and are facing foreclosure in the Destin, Niceville and Fort Walton Beach areas, relief is available. There is now a moratorium on Florida foreclosures from April 2 through May 17, 2020, per order of Governor Ron DeSantis. Executive order 20-94 states that the COVID-19 emergency has impacted people’s ability to make single family residential mortgage payments. The order suspends “any statute providing for a mortgage foreclosure cause of action” under Florida law and hints at an extension of the moratorium beyond the 45 days. This does not mean you are relieved of your mortgage debt, past due monies owed, nor future loss mitigation and foreclosure.

The new Florida foreclosure order mimics the foreclosure hold specified in the federal CARES Relief Act, but goes beyond it. The CARES Act only places a moratorium on federally backed mortgages, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA and HUD.  The Florida foreclosure moratorium suspends foreclosures for any type of mortgage.

If you are experiencing difficulty making your mortgage payments, reach out to your lender or mortgage servicer for assistance. You may be eligible for forbearance of your payments for 90 or 180 days, or more. Be careful when requesting forbearance, as compared to mortgage deferment. With forbearance, your skipped payments may be due all at once at the end of the forbearance period. For example, if you are allowed to skip $6000 of mortgage payments for three months, at the end of three months, you would pay the $6000 back at once. Alternatively, your lender may offer you a loan modification at the end of the forbearance period, or offer to spread out the missed payments over several months.  Or, they may offer you reduced mortgage payments for 90 days or more. You would pay it back over a specified amount of months. A mortgage deferral, however, would allow you to add your missed payments to the end of the mortgage term.  Obtain clarity from your lender as to exactly what they are offering. Consider consulting with an attorney for further guidance.

Finally, you may be able to avoid foreclosure by short sale. If you are contemplating selling your Emerald Coast real estate, contact me to discuss how.

It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: [email protected]

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, sells traditional and short sale real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside,  Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.

This site, Wendy Rulnick or Rulnick Realty, Inc. is not providing legal or tax advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only. It is recommended that sellers considering a short sale should consult an independent legal and tax advisor for more information.