Chris Arnold

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Kenny Malone. Today on the show, we ride along with our colleagues at NPR as they uncover a single change to some wonky mortgage terms that not many people were paying attention to. The result of that change, tens of thousands of veterans were about to lose their homes because of a policy meant to help keep them in those homes.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Kenny Malone. Today on the show, we ride along with our colleagues at NPR as they uncover a single change to some wonky mortgage terms that not many people were paying attention to. The result of that change, tens of thousands of veterans were about to lose their homes because of a policy meant to help keep them in those homes.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money. I'm Kenny Malone. Today on the show, we ride along with our colleagues at NPR as they uncover a single change to some wonky mortgage terms that not many people were paying attention to. The result of that change, tens of thousands of veterans were about to lose their homes because of a policy meant to help keep them in those homes.

Let's make sure everyone is rolling.

Let's make sure everyone is rolling.

Let's make sure everyone is rolling.

This is the most Chris Arnold way to start an interview. Oh, I'm sorry. The attorney general in another state is texting me about something else. Chris Arnold is a reporter for NPR's investigations team. He has been on the show many times before. And this particular story starts when Chris got a call from a lawyer.

This is the most Chris Arnold way to start an interview. Oh, I'm sorry. The attorney general in another state is texting me about something else. Chris Arnold is a reporter for NPR's investigations team. He has been on the show many times before. And this particular story starts when Chris got a call from a lawyer.

This is the most Chris Arnold way to start an interview. Oh, I'm sorry. The attorney general in another state is texting me about something else. Chris Arnold is a reporter for NPR's investigations team. He has been on the show many times before. And this particular story starts when Chris got a call from a lawyer.

Yes, COVID mortgage forbearance. When COVID hit, 20 million people lost their jobs, but we hoped it was going to be a temporary thing. And so Congress said, like, hey, look, if you're a homeowner and you're in trouble, you are allowed to temporarily pause your mortgage payments and not lose your home. That is forbearance. And it's become an important part of the crisis playbook.

Yes, COVID mortgage forbearance. When COVID hit, 20 million people lost their jobs, but we hoped it was going to be a temporary thing. And so Congress said, like, hey, look, if you're a homeowner and you're in trouble, you are allowed to temporarily pause your mortgage payments and not lose your home. That is forbearance. And it's become an important part of the crisis playbook.

Yes, COVID mortgage forbearance. When COVID hit, 20 million people lost their jobs, but we hoped it was going to be a temporary thing. And so Congress said, like, hey, look, if you're a homeowner and you're in trouble, you are allowed to temporarily pause your mortgage payments and not lose your home. That is forbearance. And it's become an important part of the crisis playbook.

Yeah. And even when there is not a crisis, you can usually work with your lender to pause mortgage payments for just a few months. With COVID, though, the government extended that. Homeowners were ultimately allowed 18 months of forbearance. However, Chris was hearing that something was going very wrong with that system, and it seemed to be hitting one particular group of homeowners.

Yeah. And even when there is not a crisis, you can usually work with your lender to pause mortgage payments for just a few months. With COVID, though, the government extended that. Homeowners were ultimately allowed 18 months of forbearance. However, Chris was hearing that something was going very wrong with that system, and it seemed to be hitting one particular group of homeowners.

Yeah. And even when there is not a crisis, you can usually work with your lender to pause mortgage payments for just a few months. With COVID, though, the government extended that. Homeowners were ultimately allowed 18 months of forbearance. However, Chris was hearing that something was going very wrong with that system, and it seemed to be hitting one particular group of homeowners.

That is Quill Lawrence, our second guide today. Quill covers veterans affairs for NPR.

That is Quill Lawrence, our second guide today. Quill covers veterans affairs for NPR.

That is Quill Lawrence, our second guide today. Quill covers veterans affairs for NPR.

So Chris and Quill went searching for somebody who was in the middle of this big problem, somebody who was about to lose their home.

So Chris and Quill went searching for somebody who was in the middle of this big problem, somebody who was about to lose their home.