Fannie Mae has informed us that they too have activated their disaster response policies for homeowners, this time for those affected by the California wildfires. Homeowners impacted are eligible to stop making mortgage payments for up to 12 months during which time they will not incur late fees or have delinquencies reported to the credit bureaus.

While homeowners are advised to contact their mortgage servicers as soon as possible those servicers are also authorized to suspend or reduce a homeowner's mortgage payments immediately for up to 90 days if they believe a homeowner has been affected, even without homeowner contact.  Any eligibility for up to 12 months forbearance will not be affected.  Servicers must suspend foreclosure and other legal proceedings if it believes there is a disaster-related problem.

"Our thoughts are with the families and communities impacted by the devastating California wildfires," said Carlos Perez, Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at Fannie Mae. "Fannie Mae and our servicing partners are focused on ensuring mortgage assistance is available during this challenging time. We urge everyone in the area to be safe, and we encourage homeowners affected by the fires to contact their mortgage servicer for assistance as soon as possible."

Freddie Mac announced similar disaster response policies yesterday.