At Cathay Bank, we understand that everyone goes through difficult times and that’s why we are here to help. We may be able to make your mortgage more affordable by evaluating your eligibility for either home retention or non-home retention options. The longer you wait, or the further you fall behind on your payments, the harder it will be to find a solution.
Contact us right away so we can assist you with your loan. Please call our Mortgage Loss Mitigation Team at 800-922-8429 and select Personal Banking option 2, then Mortgage Loans option 4 between 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, to discuss your options.
The available home retention options you may be eligible for include:
This is a temporary reduction of your mortgage payments. Forbearance might be available if recent events have made it difficult for you to make your payments – for example, if you recently lost your job, suffered from a disaster, or had an illness or injury that increased your health care costs. If you are eligible for this option, we could create a payment plan where you are allowed to make up any missed payments over a period of time.
With payment deferment, you may temporarily stop making payments by moving the payments during the deferment period to the end of your loan. Those missed payments will be treated as non-interest bearing and do not need to be paid until your loan reaches its maturity date or you sell your property, refinance your loan, or otherwise pay off the loan in full.
We may be able to change your loan terms, such as your interest rate, the amount of principal you owe, or the number of years you have to repay the loan if you qualify.
If you are not able to continue paying your mortgage, your best option may be to find more affordable housing. As an alternative to foreclosure, you might be eligible for non-home retention options that Cathay Bank offers, such as transferring ownership of your home without having to pay off the full amount of your mortgage, although you would be required to leave your home.
The available non-home retention options you may be eligible for include:
With our permission, you might be eligible to sell your home and pay off your mortgage even if the sale price is less than your remaining balance.
If eligible, we may release you from your mortgage if you transfer the ownership of your home to us.
We would like to advise you that all the options mentioned above will adversely affect your credit and may even incur additional tax liabilities for you at year end. You should consult your accountant for more information on tax liabilities.
If you are interested in finding out whether you qualify for any of the options listed above, please refer to the Loss Mitigation Checklist for more information and submit the required documents:
When we receive all the required documents, we will notify you within 5 business days that all required documents are received. We will start the evaluation process and pull your credit report to aid us in evaluating your eligibility. When the evaluation is complete, we will send you written notice of the result within 30 days.
If you qualify, you then have 14 days to either accept or reject the offer. If you do not qualify for any of the loss mitigations offer, we will also send you a written notice. You then have 14 days to file an appeal. Your appeal request will be forwarded to another department for a review. You will then be notified of the appeal result within 30 days of your request.
Cathay Bank offers our customers the above-mentioned loss mitigation options to avoid foreclosure. Foreclosure is a legal process a lender can use to take ownership of a property from a borrower who is behind on his/her mortgage payment. The foreclosure process depends on the laws of the state where your home is located, the terms of your loan, whether you are covered by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and other factors.
For help exploring your options, Federal government agencies provide contact information for housing counselors, which you can access. These counseling agencies are experienced in providing homeownership credit counseling and will provide information, advice, and assistance to help you become current in your loan payments.
These agencies are approved by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). You can find approved counseling agencies at either agencies websites at CFPB or HUD.
You may also contact these agencies by calling 855-411-2372 for CFPB or 800-569-4287 for HUD. Your state housing finance authority may also be able to help. Please visit the National Council of State Housing Agencies website.
The Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided that the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant’s income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.
If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces on “active duty” or “active service,” a spouse, or a dependent of such a member, you may be entitled to certain legal protections and debt relief pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Please check the attached notice for further information. (Click here for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act PDF)
At Cathay Bank, we value you as a customer and want to ensure your continued satisfaction.
