Brad Twiss on Mortgage Relief in the Early Pandemic (NPR)

a man is frustrated while speaking on the phone and looking at his computer

In the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act, which required lenders to let homeowners hit by the crisis pause their mortgage payments. NPR found that many struggling borrowers weren’t getting the relief they’d been promised. Some lenders demanded large lump-sum payments when the pause ended, phone wait times stretched for hours, and the answers varied from lender to lender.

Brad Twiss, a broker owner with Neighbors Realty in Portland, told NPR his clients were seeing the same thing. Some couldn’t reach their lenders even after waiting on hold for hours. Those who did got conflicting information, including word that they’d owe a large balloon payment at the end. Guidance changed constantly, sometimes by the hour. “Everyone’s scared,” he said. “Everyone is just, their hair is on fire.”

Click here to read the full story on NPR.

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