Over the past decade in the United States, the percentage of Hispanic/Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations has increased to 18.5 and 6 percent, respectively. Hispanic/Latino and AAPI communities make up a majority of the estimated 26 million people in the country considered to be limited English proficient (LEP), according to Census data. LEP can make it difficult to navigate the mortgage process, which today is further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when borrowers have trouble making their mortgage payments due to financial hardships. 

Recognizing the complexity of loss mitigation, and the time-sensitive nature associated with borrowers facing financial hardship, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, FHFA has worked with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the Enterprises) to highlight existing industry resources on its Mortgage Translations Clearinghouse website. Our goal is to help LEP borrowers better understand the mortgage process and determine the best path forward with more robust, on-demand language support services.

Current Economic Climate Highlights Borrowers’ Need for Interpretive Language Services 

FHFA and the Enterprises understand the added difficulty a language barrier poses for borrowers seeking payment deferrals on their mortgages. In response, the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse offers scripts in Spanish and four Asian languages that servicers can use with borrowers requesting forbearance under the CARES Act. The scripts include translations into the first- and second-most spoken foreign languages in the U.S.—Spanish and traditional Chinese—along with Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog.  

This online resource includes industry-standard glossaries of mortgage-related terms, more than 500 mortgage and homebuyer education documents, and information about live, on-demand telephonic translation services. It has downloadable versions of the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA), a step-by-step guide to walk LEP borrowers through applying for or refinancing a mortgage, and the revised Mortgage Assistance Application (MAAp), in Spanish, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Tagalog.