If your mortgage payment is becoming unaffordable, call your mortgage servicer before you miss a payment and request a loss-mitigation review. Explain whether the hardship is temporary or ongoing, ask for a complete assistance application, and respond quickly to every document request. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you prepare and evaluate the offer for free.
Do not wait for foreclosure notices or assume a lower payment is automatically affordable. Your loan type, investor rules, finances, state law, and foreclosure stage determine which solution is available. Get proposed terms in writing and compare the payment, total debt, deadlines, and what happens to your home.
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What can I do if my mortgage payment is too high?
Start with the servicer listed on your monthly statement or its official website. Tell the representative why the payment no longer fits your budget, when the problem began, and whether you expect your income or expenses to recover. Ask specifically for the mortgage-assistance or loss-mitigation department and a complete application.
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- Income sources and how often you are paid
- Essential expenses, debts, and insurance costs
- Cash, investments, and other assets
- Any relevant relocation, employment, or military orders
- The date you expect to miss a payment, if that is foreseeable
Keep a dated record of every call, the representative’s name or reference number, documents uploaded or mailed, and every deadline. Save copies of the application and confirmation that the servicer received it. A housing counselor can help you organize this information and understand the choices, but cannot guarantee that you will keep the home.
What if I can’t pay my mortgage this month?
Contact the servicer immediately rather than sending a partial payment without instructions. Ask what amount, if any, is required while an assistance application is under review and how payments will be credited. Follow the servicer’s written instructions; do not assume that a partial payment prevents delinquency.
If you have already missed a payment, the same steps still apply. A missed payment does not by itself determine the final outcome, but delay can reduce the time available to assemble documents and evaluate alternatives. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says that, in most cases, “the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
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Get free help from a HUD-approved housing counselor
HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide foreclosure-prevention counseling at no cost. A counselor can help you:
- Build a realistic income-and-expense budget
- Identify documents the servicer is likely to request
- Compare a proposed modification, repayment plan, or forbearance
- Prepare questions about fees, deferred amounts, and deadlines
- Understand how a sale or transfer of the home could affect you
Use the official HUD-approved counselor directory or CFPB consumer guidance to find an agency. Counseling is not a promise of approval, a payment reduction, or a way to bypass the servicer’s review. If you have received legal papers or a foreclosure sale appears imminent, contact a qualified attorney promptly as well as a counselor.
Mortgage-relief options to discuss with the servicer
The servicer evaluates your application and decides which options, if any, it can offer. The choices are not interchangeable: some keep you in the home, some provide only temporary relief, and others involve selling or transferring the property.
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| Option | How it may address the payment | What to verify in writing | Home outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan modification | Changes loan terms, potentially by extending repayment, reducing the interest rate, or changing how principal is treated. | New payment, interest rate, term, fees, amount added to the balance, and total amount owed over time. | Usually intended to let you remain, subject to approval and ongoing payments. |
| Repayment plan | Adds missed amounts to regular payments over an agreed period. | Length of the plan, increased monthly amount, first due date, and what happens if a payment is missed. | May allow you to remain if the higher payment is affordable. |
| Forbearance | Temporarily pauses or reduces payments. | End date, payment amount during relief, and exactly how and when postponed amounts become due. A uniform exit structure is not established. | Can let you remain temporarily; long-term affordability must be assessed before relief ends. |
| Refinance | Replaces the current mortgage with a new one, potentially using a lower rate or longer term to reduce the monthly payment. | Rate, term, closing costs, total interest, prepayment or other fees, and whether you meet underwriting requirements. CFPB material discusses this option in circumstances including having no recent missed payments. | Usually keeps you in the home if the new loan closes. |
| Short sale | Sells the home for less than the mortgage balance with required approval. | Approval, sale deadline, treatment of any remaining balance, tax or credit consequences, and release of liens or other obligations. | You leave the home after an approved sale. |
| Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure | Transfers ownership of the home to the servicer and moves out, subject to approval. | Whether any deficiency remains, what happens to other liens, move-out terms, and written release of obligations. | You surrender the home without a foreclosure sale if approved. |
A lower monthly payment can still be unaffordable or more expensive over the life of the loan. Compare the immediate payment with the total debt, interest, fees, and any amount deferred or added to principal.
How to compare a proposal before accepting it
Ask the servicer for a written offer and review it with a housing counselor. Use this checklist:
- Test the payment against your budget. Include the full housing payment and essential living costs. If relief is temporary, calculate the payment that begins afterward.
- Measure the long-term cost. Compare principal, interest, fees, and the total amount owed under the current loan and the proposal. A longer term or capitalized arrears can lower the payment while increasing total cost.
- Identify the treatment of missed amounts. Determine whether arrears are forgiven, added to the balance, deferred to the end, or collected through higher payments.
- Check every condition and deadline. Note required income documents, trial payments, signatures, appeal rights, and the date by which the offer must be accepted.
- Match the solution to the hardship. Temporary income disruption may call for temporary relief; a permanent payment gap may require a lasting modification or a plan to sell.
- Understand the home and debt consequences. For a short sale or deed-in-lieu, obtain written terms on any remaining balance, liens, relocation requirements, and the effect of the transfer.
Do not rely on a phone promise. If a representative says a payment will be skipped, reduced, or moved, request confirmation in the servicer’s written correspondence.
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Servicer contact and foreclosure timing
Federal servicing rules described by the CFPB generally require a servicer to try to contact a borrower within 36 calendar days after delinquency and to send written information about possible loss-mitigation options and how to obtain more information within 45 calendar days. These are general servicing timelines, not an approval, and they are not a reason to wait before calling.
CFPB foreclosure-timeline guidance also states that a servicer generally cannot make the first foreclosure notice or filing until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent. The threshold does not predict when a particular home will be sold. Once a legal process begins, timing varies by state, and an application, appeal, bankruptcy, or other circumstance may affect the process. Treat 120 days as a prompt to act early, not as a grace period.
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- User-Friendly Layout - The budget planner features a user-friendly layout designed for easy navigation and organization. Each month, you'll find dedicated budget pages where you can set financial goals, track your income, and plan your expenses. Additional sections include debt trackers, savings goals, bill payment trackers, and more, making it simple to stay on top of your finances.
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What to do if the servicer does not resolve the issue
First, escalate through the servicer’s designated complaint or resolution channel and keep your records. Ask what is missing, whether the application is considered complete, and when a written decision is due.
You may submit a complaint to the CFPB. The agency can forward the complaint to the company for a response, but filing does not automatically stop or delay foreclosure. Legal papers or an imminent sale require prompt legal advice rather than reliance on a complaint response.
Recognize mortgage-relief scams
Be cautious of anyone who:
- Demands an upfront fee to obtain a modification or stop foreclosure
- Guarantees that your loan will be changed or your home will be saved
- Instructs you to stop paying the servicer or to send payments elsewhere
- Asks you to sign over title or sign documents you do not understand
- Claims to be affiliated with the government without verifiable authority
The CFPB states, “You don’t have to pay anyone to help you avoid foreclosure.” Start with your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor, both of which can provide the initial assistance without paying a rescue company. Never transfer title or redirect payments based only on a caller’s instructions.
When staying in the home is no longer affordable
If a modification, repayment plan, or other retention option still leaves a permanent budget shortfall, ask the servicer about an approved short sale or deed-in-lieu before foreclosure advances. These paths require written approval and can have different consequences for a remaining balance, liens, taxes, credit, and moving costs. A counselor can help you compare them, while an attorney can explain state-law rights and obligations.
Do not abandon the property or stop communicating because an option seems likely. Continue meeting any payment obligation you can and follow the servicer’s instructions while the alternative is reviewed. Only a written agreement establishes the terms.
A practical action plan for the next 48 hours
- Call the number on your mortgage statement or the servicer’s official website and state that you need a loss-mitigation review.
- Explain the hardship, whether it is temporary or ongoing, and the date of any expected missed payment.
- Request the complete assistance application and exact submission method.
- Gather income, expense, asset, and hardship documents; send only through verified channels.
- Contact a HUD-approved counselor for free budget and application help.
- Create a written log of calls, uploads, letters, reference numbers, and deadlines.
- When an offer arrives, compare payment, total cost, arrears treatment, conditions, and home outcome before signing.
- If legal papers arrive or a sale is imminent, consult an attorney immediately.
Loan-specific eligibility, investor rules, state foreclosure procedures, and current assistance programs can change. Use the servicer’s current written terms and advice from a HUD-approved counselor or attorney for decisions about your case.
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