Homeowners who are having challenges making their mortgage payments will often have several options to get them back on track.
First, it is best to be talking with your lender as soon as you know that you’ll be missing a mortgage payment.
Lenders really don’t want your home back and would rather work out terms with you so you can keep it. It is expensive for them to maintain a home, then go through the process of selling it, then hope they can sell it for more than you owe them.
Two of the options that lenders may offer you if you’re behind on your mortgage payments are what are called forbearances and deferments.
Forbearance: This is where the lender lets you make either reduced or no payments for a specific period of time. At the end of that period, you would be asked to catch up on all of the missed payments. Depending on the arrangement, this may be due as a lump sum at the end of the forbearance period or may be able to be paid over time.
Deferment: A deferment works similarly to a forbearance in that you’ll be able to skip a number of payments before resuming them. Here, though, you may be able to enter into an agreement with the lender to put the missed payments onto the end of the loan.
If you have any questions about asking your lender for either a forbearance or a deferment, please give me a call and I’d be happy to answer them.