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    3.4 Million Homeowners Skip Payments. But Many Are Scared, Say Congress Needs To Act

    Homeowners say that to catch up on payments, lenders demand big balloon payments they can't afford. Advocates want Congress to mandate that missed payments simply be added to the end of the loan term.
    by Chris Arnold Apr 27, 2020 6 minutes
    Nevada resident Derek Reich lost his income as a freelance cameraman. He says his lender told him he'd have to make up any missed payments in a giant balloon payment he can't afford. Then he was told if he didn't qualify for a better option, "you're going into foreclosure." So Reich says he's going to spend his 401(k) retirement money rather than get the help that Congress wanted him to have.

    Jasmine Esposito-Gullo lost most of her income since she arranges concert tours for musicians. The coronavirus pandemic has shut down those tours. Like many other homeowners, she says her lender told her that if she skips mortgage payments on her Long Island home — as Congress says she can — the consequences will be punishing.

    "You know, it stresses us out," she says. "It's like a black cloud hanging over my head."

    More than 3.4 million homeowners are temporarily skipping their mortgage payments because they've lost income during the pandemic. Under the CARES Act rescue package passed by Congress, affected homeowners can skip or delay payments for up to a year.

    Jasmine's husband Frank Gullo works for the Long Island Rail Road, which cut back his hours. Even with Jasmine's unemployment money, the couple says they're still making thousands of dollars less a month. So they called up their lender, Freedom Mortgage.

    "They told

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