Mortgage assistance for Katrina victims

With homes destroyed or uninhabitable, tens of thousands of Americans swamped by Hurricane Katrina's winds and rains are wondering how they'll continue to make their mortgage payments. After surveying the top-10 mortgage lenders across the nation, Bankrate found that most of these financial institutions have a disaster-relief program in place for their customers who reside in the federally declared disaster areas of Hurricane Katrina, which includes parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Most have a toll-free hot line for customers to call, and some type of special payment arrangement for their customers such as offering to defer payments, waiving late fees and not sending any negative credit reporting for up to three months.

But you need to call.

"We want our customers to call us as soon as possible," says Tom Kelly, a spokesman with Chase Home Finance. "We need to know how their property has been impacted and where to reach them. During this call, we'll discuss options for payment deferment, waiving late fees and no negative credit reporting. With a situation of this magnitude, we're set to develop assistance options based on individual circumstances.

"Also many homeowners may not even remember who they have homeowners insurance with," he says. "We can pass onto our customers the name of their insurance company and a phone number to call."

Below is a listing of the major lenders we surveyed, with contact information and the details of the lenders program to assist their customers. If your mortgage company is not on the list, go to the Mortgage Bankers Association for more information.