70% of homeowners in forbearance didn’t need the help

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Mortgage payment forbearance is a lifeline for homeowners who can’t pay their mortgage right now, but a surprisingly high percentage of borrowers who applied for and got forbearance say they didn’t need it.

Nationwide, 80% of homeowners who applied for forbearance under the CARES act were approved for it, buying at least three months of deferred mortgage payments.

A LendingTree survey of a small sample of 1,000 mortgage holders who are in forbearance found that only 5% of those approved for forbearance said they wouldn’t have been able to pay their mortgage without it. Another 26% said they could have paid the mortgage, but would have had to skip other bills.

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