Tornado victims in Oklahoma and Kansas may have one less worry -- making the monthly mortgage payment. Nearly 20,000 buildings were destroyed when the twisters hit, killing 38 people in Oklahoma and five in Kansas.

Fannie Mae has advised lenders that it has mortgage relief procedures in place to allow victims to suspend mortgage payments for three months, reduce payments for 18 months and extend loan payback plans.

"Homeowners who have experienced hardship that makes it difficult to make their mortgage payments should contact the lender to whom they send their monthly mortgage payment," the agency said in a release.

Fannie Mae talks, lenders listen
Fannie Mae cannot provide mortgage relief directly to victims, but its Adviseries have great sway over lenders. Fannie Mae is a dominant player in the secondary mortgage market, in which it purchases loans from lenders, bundles them and sells them off to Wall Street investors. In that role, it helps set standards for lending.

Lenders doing business with Fannie Mae, the agency said, should determine appropriate relief steps by considering:

• Any uninsured losses
• Extended unemployment
• Extraordinary expenses related to tornadoes that affect mortgage payments

Officials in both states saluted the agency's stance.

"Homeowners in disaster areas should not have to worry about making mortgage payments if their home has been destroyed by a tornado," said Frank Keating, the governor of Oklahoma.

"I salute Fannie Mae for working with Kansas' lenders to reduce or suspend families mortgage obligations during this difficult recovery period," said U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan.

His district includes Sedgwick County, where some of the worst damage occurred.

In and around the cities of Haysville and Wichita, as many as 8,400 structures were impacted in the path of the twisters, with 1,100 of those destroyed. There are more than 2,240 structures that suffered major damage, and 5,126 with minor damage.

State Farm, the biggest home and auto insurer in both states, estimated that it will pay out $183 million in damages -- $135 million to 30,000 homeowners and $48 million to repair and replace 12,000 vehicles damaged by the storms. Estimates of total damage run as high as $500 million.

FEMA provides additional help
Additional mortgage relief is available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In areas declared official disaster areas by presidential decree, FEMA may offer grants from its Mortgage and Rental Assistance Program. The MRA is designed to prevent the eviction of homeowners or renters because of income or job loss resulting from disasters.

The program offers mortgage or rent payments during the disaster, and people are asked to apply as soon as possible.

The last time FEMA made the program available was in California, to compensate victims of the California freeze disaster. To date, nearly $1.1 million has been given to 5,000 people affected in the eight-county freeze area.

To apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance in those counties designated for aid to individuals, families and business owners can call toll-free 1-800-462-9029 or 1-800-462-7585 for hearing-impaired callers, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to give basic information about themselves, their insurance coverage and other information to help substantiate losses.

"FEMA officials are already hard at work bringing relief to Oklahomans who suffered losses in the storms, working in close cooperation with state and local agencies," Keating said.