In the realm of nightmare scenarios for home owners, the biggest one – just behind your house burning down with all your belongings in it – is the specter of being unable to pay your mortgage. This brings up the most feared f-word in the home ownership sector – foreclosure – and the mere threat of such a possibility is enough to send the most calm among us into a tailspin of uncontrollable anxiety.
Of course, there are things you can do if you can’t pay your mortgage. If you encounter such a situation, here’s a short list of options open to you that might make it easier for you to breathe.
Let Your Servicer Know Immediately
Your first stop, in every single instance, is to call up your mortgage servicer immediately. Many servicers are more than happy to help you in some way if you’ve just missed a payment or you are going to miss your next payment. The key to doing this as soon as possible is because that the ability for your servicer to work with you becomes much harder with every payment you miss. Your servicer won’t be able to do much if you’re desperate to stay in your home but you haven’t given them much to work with.
Contacting your mortgage services isn’t difficult. You can find a telephone number on your monthly statement, and even if you don’t receive a monthly statement you can peruse the loan coupon book given to you by your lender. Meanwhile, you can also call up the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems service – or visit its website – in order to discover which company is the one that is actively servicing your mortgage in particular.
How to Prepare for the Call
Making such a call is likely to be a harrowing experience. You are, after all, calling up someone you owe money with an aim towards telling them that you can’t exactly pay them back. However, keep a calm and collected head, and be prepared to give a detailed explanation as to why you’re having difficulties making the next payment. Make sure you identify the root of the problem that’s interrupting your ability to make that mortgage payment, whether the circumstances are due to permanent change in your life or if they’re just temporary, and what your full financial situation is at the moment, complete with assets, incomes and expenses.
Don’t Just Call Your Servicer
Of course, there are other individuals or organizations out there that may be willing to help you if you find yourself in such an unenviable position. Placing a call to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for instance, can help get the ball rolling on getting you in contact with a housing counselor with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Additionally, you may wish to have a consultation with an attorney as well, especially if you have been served with legal documents. If you are unable to afford an attorney on your own, you may be able to avail yourselves of the legal aid program in your state. You may also consider contacting the American Bar Association through their website, where you can find a list of lawyers that are local to you that may be willing to work with you as well.
Whatever you do, keep calm and take steps as soon as possible to seek help, whether it is from your servicer, a lawyer, or the HUD.