Explaining Mortgage Deferrals and Eligibility

Thursday, 26 March 2020 at 13:35

The Principal Broker and CEO For the Mortgage Centre in Woodstock joined Heart FM today to explain how mortgage deferrals work and who is eligible.

OXFORD COUNTY - The Principal Broker and CEO For the Mortgage Centre in Woodstock joined Heart FM today to explain how mortgage deferrals work.

Julie Brenneman explains who qualifies for mortgage deferrals right now.

"Basically anybody who is currently off work because of the coronavirus, whether they have been ordered off work, or if they have been in quarantine because they have been travelling, they are the ones who would qualify for the deferrals."

Brenneman says the rules are different between lenders.

"There has been an influx of calls lately from people who are temporarily laid off. If that's the case, most lenders will allow for a partial deferral, just pay the interest, it depends on the situation, if it's something where you are off work with pay, again some lenders will allow it if you are CMHC insured. CMHC is actually having lenders call the employers to confirm yes, the employee is off work and is collecting unemployment or is not collecting anything at the moment and does need a deferral."

If you want to apply for a deferral, you need to contact your lender directly over the phone or through email. It is going to be a long wait right now because of the demand. Brenneman did caution that you need to make sure you understand what you are applying for.

"Before you request a deferred payment or during that process, that you get in writing what kind of charges it's going to have and what kind of effect it is going to have on your accrued interest, on your mortgage. The reason I am saying that is because if you are deferring your mortgage and you are just doing it to have a payment break, which a lot of people are in this case, then what happens is, your interest accrues and you end up paying more money in the long run. We really don't recommend that people defer the payments unless you absolutely have to, and also saying that it will free up the phone lines for the people who really do need the help."

You can listen to the full interview below.