Getty Images

These steps can help if you?re at risk of missing a payment because of COVID-19 The health and economic impact of the spread of COVID-19 is both already devastating and only just beginning.
A record 3.3 million Americans reportedly applied for unemployment last week, a number that is likely lower than the actual number of people who are now out of work. Savings and retirement nest eggs are vanishing as the stock market collapses. It?s only a matter of time before the effects ripple through other sectors of the American economy.
If you have a mortgage and your source of income is threatened by the fallout from the novel coronavirus, you are probably?and understandably?very worried. Take heart that the federal government has placed a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures on houses backed by government-sponsored mortgage facilitators Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, or by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), through the end of April. Freddie, Fannie, and the FHA back the vast majority of single-family houses. So if you?re in financial trouble, you won?t be subject to foreclosure or eviction, at least through April. Federal regulators have also directed mortgage servicers to offer reduced mortgage payments, forbearance, or deferrals to homeowners impacted by the crisis if they have mortgages backed by Freddie or Fannie. Forbearance could be extended for as long as a year, and the servicer will work with you on a long-term solution for covering / making up...