D2-3.2-05, Disaster Payment Deferral (10/11/2023)

The servicer must not require a complete BRP to evaluate the borrower for a disaster payment deferral if the eligibility criteria are satisfied.

Note: A disaster-related forbearance plan is not required for purposes of determining borrower eligibility for a disaster payment deferral.

In order to be eligible for a disaster payment deferral, the criteria in the following table must be met.

A Texas Section 50(a)(6) loan is eligible for a disaster payment deferral if

• the requirements described in Determining Eligibility for a Disaster Payment Deferral are satisfied, and

• the application of a disaster payment deferral to the mortgage loan complies with applicable law.

If the servicer receives a notice from the borrower that a disaster payment deferral fails to comply with Texas Section 50(a)(6) requirements, the servicer must immediately, but no later than seven business days after receipt, take the actions listed in the following table.

The servicer must perform an escrow analysis prior to offering a disaster payment deferral. See Administering an Escrow Account in Connection With a Payment Deferral in  B-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying ExpensesB-1-01, Administering an Escrow Account and Paying Expenses  for additional information.

Any escrow account shortage that is identified at the time of the disaster payment deferral must not be included in the non-interest-bearing balance, and the servicer is not required to fund any existing escrow account shortage. 

If applicable law prohibits the establishment of the escrow account, the servicer must ensure that the T&I payments are paid to date.

The servicer must defer the following amounts as a non-interest bearing balance, due and payable at maturity of the mortgage loan, or earlier upon the sale or transfer of the property, refinance of the mortgage loan, or payoff of the interest-bearing UPB:

• up to 12 months of past-due P&I payments;

• out-of-pocket escrow advances paid to third parties, provided they are paid prior to the effective date of the disaster payment deferral; and

• servicing advances paid to third parties in the ordinary course of business and not retained by the servicer, provided they are paid prior to the effective date of the disaster payment deferral, if allowed by state law.

All other terms of the mortgage loan must remain unchanged.

Any existing non-interest bearing balance amount on the mortgage loan remains due and payable at maturity of the mortgage loan, or earlier upon the sale or transfer of the property, refinance of the mortgage loan, or payoff of the interest-bearing UPB.

Also see A4-2.1-07, Servicer's Duties and Responsibilities Related to Mortgage Loans with an Outstanding Non-Interest-Bearing BalanceA4-2.1-07, Servicer's Duties and Responsibilities Related to Mortgage Loans with an Outstanding Non-Interest-Bearing Balance for additional information.

Fannie Mae considers a disaster payment deferral to be completed when the case is submitted into Fannie Mae's servicing solutions system, including entry of loan-level information such as the applicable campaign ID to identify a payment deferral. The case must be entered by the last day of the month in which the evaluation took place.

If the servicer is unable to complete the disaster payment deferral prior to the 15th day of the evaluation month, then the servicer is authorized to allow for sufficient processing time (using a "processing month") to complete a disaster payment deferral. The servicer must treat all borrowers equally in applying the processing month, as evidenced by written policy.

The servicer must send the disaster payment deferral agreement, or equivalent, to the borrower no later than five days after the completion of the disaster payment deferral.

While use of the disaster payment deferral agreement is optional, it reflects the minimum level of information that the servicer must communicate and illustrates a level of specificity that complies with the requirements of this Guide. Also, the servicer must ensure the disaster payment deferral agreement complies with applicable law.

Note: If the servicer determines the borrower’s signature is required on the disaster payment deferral agreement, it must receive the executed agreement prior to completing the disaster payment deferral.

The servicer represents and warrants that application of the disaster payment deferral to the mortgage loan does not impair Fannie Mae's first lien position or enforceability against the borrower(s) in accordance with its terms.

The servicer must also provide documents to the document custodian in accordance with the following table.

If the servicer is unable to achieve QRPC as described in Contacting a Borrower During a Forbearance Plan Term in D2-3.2-01, Forbearance PlanD2-3.2-01, Forbearance Plan  with a borrower on a disaster-related forbearance plan and the borrower is otherwise eligible for a disaster payment deferral, the servicer must solicit the borrower for a disaster payment deferral within 15 days after expiration of the forbearance plan.

If a borrower with a disaster-related hardship does not make their total monthly repayment plan payment by the end of the month in which it is due, then the servicer must solicit the borrower for a disaster payment deferral by the 15th day of the following month, provided that QRPC has not been achieved and the borrower is otherwise eligible for a disaster payment deferral.

See Using the Solicitation Letters later in this topic for additional information.

The servicer must refer to Evaluating or Soliciting a Borrower with a Disaster-Related Hardship for a Fannie Mae Flex Modification in  D2-3.2-06, Fannie Mae Flex ModificationD2-3.2-06, Fannie Mae Flex Modification  for when to solicit the borrower for a Fannie Mae Flex Modification.

The borrower must make their full monthly contractual payment during the month of the solicitation and/or a processing month if, as of the date of evaluation, the mortgage loan is 12 months delinquent.

In this circumstance, the servicer must complete the disaster payment deferral within the month of the solicitation and/or processing month after receipt of the borrower's full monthly contractual payment due during that month.

When soliciting the borrower for a disaster payment deferral, the servicer must use the Payment Deferral Post-Disaster Forbearance Plan Solicitation Cover Letter or the Disaster Payment Deferral Post-Repayment Plan Solicitation Cover Letter, as applicable, with the payment deferral agreement or the equivalent, making any appropriate changes to comply with applicable law.

While use of these documents is optional, they reflect the minimum level of information that the servicer must communicate and illustrate a level of specificity that complies with the requirements of the Servicing Guide. The servicer must ensure that all documents comply with applicable law.

The servicer must included instruction on how to accept the solicitation in the payment deferral agreement. The servicer is authorized to consider the following as acceptance by the borrower, subject to applicable law:

• the borrower contacting the servicer directly in accordance with any acceptable outreach and communication method,
• the borrower returning an executed payment deferral agreement, or
• any other method evidencing the borrower's acceptance as determined by the servicer.

MBS mortgage loans subject to a disaster payment deferral will not be subject to automatic reclassification as described in  A1-3-06, Automatic Reclassification of MBS Mortgage LoansA1-3-06, Automatic Reclassification of MBS Mortgage Loans. In addition, the servicer must not make a manual reclassification request for mortgage loans subject to a disaster payment deferral. 

The servicer must see F-2-06, Mortgage Insurer Delegations for Workout OptionsF-2-06, Mortgage Insurer Delegations for Workout Options for the list of conventional mortgage insurers from which Fannie Mae has obtained delegation of authority on behalf of all servicers, which allows the servicer to process a disaster payment deferral without obtaining separate mortgage insurer approval at the company or loan level.

The servicer must not charge the borrower administrative fees.

The servicer must waive all late charges, penalties, stop payment fees, or similar charges upon completing a disaster payment deferral.

The servicer must follow the procedures in Reimbursement for Expenses Associated with Workout Options in F-1-05, Expense ReimbursementF-1-05, Expense Reimbursement for advancing funds and requesting reimbursement.