Some Mortgage Loan Servicers’ Websites Continue to Offer Information about CARES Act Loan Forbearance That Could Mislead or Confuse Borrowers, or Provide Little or no Information at all

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this study to follow up on information we shared previously regarding what information servicers of mortgage loans insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are providing to borrowers regarding forbearance options available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). We reported on April 27, 2020, that our review of 30 FHA servicers who service approximately 90 percent of FHA loans, revealed that FHA servicer websites provided incomplete, inconsistent, dated, and unclear guidance to borrowers related to their forbearance options under the CARES Act. We cautioned that lack of clear and consistent guidance from FHA servicers and enforcement by FHA of that guidance allows servicers to leave struggling homeowners unable to make informed decisions about paying their mortgages and relief that may be available to them during this pandemic We found that despite virtually all of the top 30 servicers updating information on their websites on options available to borrowers during this COVID-19 emergency, some servicer websites continue to provide information that could mislead or confuse borrowers or provide little or no information to borrowers related to their forbearance options under the CARES Act.