No Evictions for Christmas

Rest easy, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have told people with homes in foreclosure. This holiday season there will be no coal in your stockings. Evictions will be delayed until January 2 of next year. In the meantime, eat food you do not have and give presents you cannot afford. Accept a gift that is no gift at all. By the way, the people who eventually will evict you will be on vacation anyway. So, the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratoriums do not mean a thing.

According to the press release:

“We’re taking this step in support of families who have faced financial challenges and gone through a foreclosure,” said Terry Edwards, Executive Vice President of Credit Portfolio Management, Fannie Mae. “The holidays are a chance to be with loved ones and we want to relieve some stress at this time of year. We encourage homeowners having difficulty to reach out for help as soon as possible.”

Reach out for that help, with only three weeks until bank officials leave for a holiday weekend, or even take a week off. The two agencies want to give people who might be evicted all of that extra time.

There are several catches to the generosity. Among them:

Legal and administrative proceedings for evictions may continue, but families living in foreclosed properties will be allowed to remain in the home during this period.

This will give these families a few more days to pack whatever belongings they have and find a place to live, or not. They may be taken in by relatives, or find a place to sleep on the streets nearby.

The plans as announced make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seem generous. It is good public relations. While agencies have told local officials to stop whatever plans they have to kick people out of their homes, these people can live in anxiety for a few more days, while the benefits of “extra time” hearten them.

Ho ho ho. It’s Christmas.

Douglas A. McIntyre