[GordonS]

I'm not the OP, but three things spring to mind:

1. Pause mortgage capital payments, so the landlord only needs to pay the interest - it might help somewhat

2. Or instead of (1), pause mortgage payments altogether (a "payment holiday") so there will be no negative consequences of the landlord not paying the mortgage for this time. For extra points, also freeze the accrual of interest.

3. Pay the landlords some fraction of their lost income, e.g. 50%, so they can afford to pay their mortgage lender, and won't end up getting their property taken by the bank (which would ultimately result in the tenants being evicted)

[dataflow]

I thought mortgage relief (especially for the pandemic) was already a thing? https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-hou...

[TuringNYC]

Only for GSE mortgages, and they just paused payments, didnt eliminate them (unlike rent which is essentially eliminated / uncollectible). Also, property taxes can be substantial and often higher than the mortgage depending on your area, and that wasn't addressed.

[dataflow]

> Only for GSE mortgages

Ok but GSE is the government, so it's not like the government isn't helping landlords. And what is actually happening to people with other mortgages? Are landlords failing to meet private loans and getting foreclosed as a result? Or are they getting some relief too?

> and they just paused payments, didnt eliminate them (unlike rent which is essentially eliminated / uncollectible)

I don't buy this complaint (if I understand the situation correctly). The argument was purportedly that you can't make mortgage payments without rental income, but you can't lease your home anymore because it's occupied. But when you get the relief, you don't have to make mortgage payments for that duration at all... not now, not in the future. You only pay for months that you are able to lease your home. i.e. the mortgage payments for those months are eliminated. (Right?) That seems like a much better situation than renters' as far as the mortgage payments go (who legally owe backpay rent and might now end up homeless, landlords's care to follow through notwithstanding), certainly not worse.

> Also, property taxes can be substantial and often higher than the mortgage depending on your area, and that wasn't addressed.

Also not buying this one. The stimulus + unemployment were there for landlords too. For landlords who have half a dozen homes and can't afford all of them together, I'm sure they have plenty of resources at their disposal and wouldn't face eviction or the risk of landing on their streets like many of their tenants.

[TuringNYC]

>> But when you get the relief, you don't have to make mortgage payments for that duration at all... not now, not in the future.

Not now, true. But YES in the future. Deferred payments means you still make your payments, but the whole schedule is right-shifted by 12 months.

[dataflow]

Schedule shifting means you're NOT paying for these months when you didn't have revenue. You'll be paying for later months... at the same time that you'll have revenue for it. Which is drastically unlike the case for renters, which they'll be obligated to backpay in the near future.

[TuringNYC]

>> You'll be paying for later months

What does this even mean? In the US atleast, mortgages are a fixed set of payments. Usually, it is a total of 360 payments. You dont pay "for specific months" you pay a specific number of payments. Deferment means you still make all 360 payments, just at different times. Without deferment, you make 360 payments. With deferment, you also make 360 payments. In either case, you pay.

Renters backpaying rent is questionable. Once a renter is behind 12 months it is unlikely they will ever catch up. The typical response is the fear of credit blemishes -- except even this fear is gone in places like NYC -- many renters are holding occupancy of the property until all past rent is forgiven, wiping out all past liabilities.