VA extends request for moratorium on foreclosures after 2017 hurricanes

VA officials have again asked lenders not to foreclose on veterans whose ability to pay their VA-backed mortgages was impeded by three major hurricanes that hit the U.S. last year.

In the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017, VA requested that lenders not foreclose on such loans for 90 days. Because the lenders, not VA, hold the loans, the decision to foreclose is theirs, but VA can allow for the collection of additional interest if the lender agrees to hold off foreclosure proceedings.

In March, VA requested the moratorium be extended to 270 days, after an earlier request to push the figure to 180 days.

What VA loan users should do when natural disasters strike

From insurance to address changes, what needs done as the dust settles.

By Kevin Lilley

The three storms are among the costliest in history. Harvey made landfall in Texas in late August, Irma hit Florida in mid-September and Maria did major damage to Puerto Rico later that month. The VA request covers all areas hit by the storms, not just the landfall locations.

A screen shot from a video of Edisto Island, South Carolina, taken from an Army National Guard LUH-72A Lakota utility helicopter shortly after Hurricane Irma made landfall in September 2017. VA has requested that lenders delay storm-related foreclosure proceedings for those hit by three major hurricanes last year. (Video by Sgt. Ken Burton/Army)

It’s not clear how many VA loan users were affected by the storms, but Texas and Florida consistently rank at or near the top of the list for newly issued loans each year. They were 1-2, respectively, in 2017, with 39,006 purchase loans issued in Texas and 34,605 issued in Florida. Only California had more Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans issued in 2017; Texas ranked second (19,610) and Florida was third (12,842).

Struggling to meet the mortgage? VA may offer help

Tens of thousands of VA-backed borrowers received assistance in fiscal 2016.

By Kevin Lilley

Less than 1,900 VA-backed purchase loans and IRRRLs were made in Puerto Rico in 2017, but those figures don’t account for existing loans. Nearly 90,000 homeowners on the island reportedly became delinquent on their mortgage payments as a result of the storm.

About Kevin Lilley

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.