If you receive forbearance on your mortgage payments under the CARES Act, when do you have to catch up on those missed payments?

Last week we presented the new law allowing forbearance—skipping payments—on federally backed mortgages during the pandemic. Basically, if you’ve been financially affected by the pandemic you can request and receive a 6-month forbearance on payments. This can be extended another 6 months if the declared emergency continues at that point.

Resolve disputes with your lender in Chapter 13 about 1) additional fees and charges, and 2) whether you’ve cured the mortgage arrearage.

Last week we described a Chapter 13 procedure to force mortgage lenders to resolve mortgage accounting disputes. This procedure focuses on changes to the monthly mortgage payment amount during the case. These are often just the normal contractually mandated changes arising from adjustments to the mortgage interest rate, and in property taxes and homeowners’ insurance. You and your lender need to be on the same page on the monthly amount so that you can stay current. Because of the importance of this, Rule 3002.1 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure provides an enforceable way within Chapter 13 for you to timely learn about mortgage payment changes and to efficiently resolve any related disputes.

This Rule also addresses two other practical problems about mortgage accounting: