Little bit of breathing room is always helpful.

via applerealty:

Unemployed homeowners with loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie could now be eligible for reduced or suspended mortgage payments for up to a year. The government-controlled mortgage finance companies emphasized that they were doing so at the direction of their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Starting Feb. 1, Freddie Mac said it will allow companies that collect mortgage payments to give borrowers up to a 12-month break on their mortgages, up from a current level of six months. However, the break, known in the mortgage industry as forbearance, will only be temporary. Borrowers will still owe the payments they have missed.

“These expanded forbearance periods will provide families facing prolonged periods of unemployment with a greater measure of security by giving them more time to find new employment and resolve their delinquencies,” said Tracy Mooney, a Freddie Mac senior vice president. “We believe this will put more families back on track to successful long-term home ownership.”

Freddie Mac didn’t have an estimate available for how many borrowers would qualify