Foreclosure Freeze To Help Homeowners

West Palm Beach-- Major news for homeowners facing foreclosure. Two Mortgage giants are freezing on-going foreclosures for the holidays hoping to bring relief to tens of thousands.

"Very disheartening, never faced anything like this before," said Michael Webb who claims the past 4 months have been brutal. That's how long he's missed paying the mortgage on his West Palm Beach home he's owned for 15 years, a home now in foreclosure.

Even though he's being foreclosed by a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, he is hopeful about today's news that mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will stop all of their foreclosures during the holiday season. "I hope that creates a domino effect for other mortgage companies that are not under Fannie and Freddie's umbrella to do the same and follow suit," said Webb.

The foreclosure halt only applies to customers of the two companies. It goes into effect November 26 thru January 9th, while the companies evaluate whether troubled borrowers qualify for a change in their loan terms. Officials say it's their way to stifle the increasing foreclosure crisis.

Port Saint Lucie Century 21 realtor Brad Colean says Fannie and Freddie's act of kindness is simply a band-aid, delaying the inevitable. "It's kind of a holiday gift for people living in their homes, but if they take that money and blow it all on christmas gifts, it's not going to help taxpayers," said Colean.

The holidays are going to be tough for Webb and his family, but after hearing about a foreclosure freeze, he's hoping for a brighter new year. "My intention is not to lose this home, my family grew up in this house," he said.

Experts say even if your foreclosure paperwork doesn't have a Freddie or Fannie letterhead, make sure you look at the fine print. Many companies are under the umbrella of these 2 mortgage giants and you just may be in for a foreclosure break this holiday season.