South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) is encouraging homeowners, struggling to make their mortgage payments, to reach out to their loan servicer for payment relief options. Your loan servicer is who you make your monthly payments to and their contact information can usually be found on your mortgage statement.

“Many homeowners may be feeling a bit of unease as May 1 is approaching and mortgage payments are due,” said Mark Lauseng, executive director of SDHDA. “I encourage homeowners who can’t make their monthly payments to contact their loan servicer to help navigate available payment relief options.”

Homeowners who have mortgages backed by the federal government are provided protections through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES act provides protection against foreclosure and provides the right to mortgage forbearance – a pause or reduction in mortgage payments for a limited time. Your loan servicer will be able to provide you with options for the specific loan protection terms being offered.

For homeowners who do not have federally backed mortgages, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and other financial regulators have encouraged financial institutions to work with borrowers. Again, contact your mortgage servicer for mortgage relief options due to COVID-19.