Coronavirus has created unprecedented challenges for people and industries. For homeowners facing a big reduction in income due to coronavirus-related hardship, a forbearance can make excellent sense. But for those who have the capacity to continue making mortgage payments, there are downsides to consider. Forbearance itself does not hurt your credit score, but it does show up on your credit report. This will affect your ability to qualify for a loan in the present and near future. It can also result in your other creditors decreasing your available credit balances. This has the unintended effect of increasing your ratio of debt to available credit which is a key component of credit scoring models. Thus, even though forbearance itself is not hurting your credit, it can indirectly lower your credit score and it will absolutely impact your mortgage creditworthiness in the short term.
