California’s 90-day grace period for all mortgage payments

 

Hi Neighbors,

You may be able to reduce or delay your monthly mortgage payment under recent changes California has made. Please note that the information below is not legal advice and I encourage you to do your own research, but I wanted to share some resources on this topic.

Renter? We’ve started a Tenant’s Toolkit for both Commercial & Residential Tenants to understand the latest changes. See it here.

According to California Governor Newsom’s March 25th guidance, the following is in place.

90-day grace period for all mortgage payments

If you are impacted by COVID-19, these financial institutions will offer mortgage-payment forbearances of up to 90 days, which allow you to reduce or delay your monthly mortgage payment. In addition, they will: 

  • Give you a streamlined process for requesting forbearance for COVID-19-related reasons, supported with available documentation;

  • Confirm approval of and terms of forbearance program; and

  • Provide you the opportunity to extend your forbearance agreement if you continue to experience hardship due to COVID-19.

Relief from fees and charges for 90 days

For at least 90 days, financial institutions will waive or refund mortgage-related late fees and other fees including early CD withdrawals.

No new foreclosures for 60 days

Financial institutions will not start any foreclosure sales or evictions.

No credit score changes for accessing relief

If you are taking advantage of this COVID-19-related relief, late or missed payments will not be shared with credit reporting agencies.

 

Property Tax Update

According to José Cisneros, San Francisco Treasurer in an April 3rd letter…

As the San Francisco shelter-in-place order has been extended and in accordance with state law, the new property tax deadline is May 4, 2020 (the first business day after the shelter-in-place order is lifted). Taxpayers who are unable to pay by this date for reasons related to COVID-19 should submit a request for a penalty waiver request online. Please note that penalty waiver requests will not accepted until after the property tax deadline.

Currently our City Hall offices are closed, and we cannot accept in-person payments.  To make a property tax payment, please pay online or by US mail. There is no cost for e-Check payments online. Do not send cash in the US mail.

If you have any questions, please review our Frequently Asked Questions page or  visit our Help Center or call 3-1-1.