When the place that holds your memories—the laughter in the kitchen, the quiet moments at night, the milestones you never want to forget—starts to feel uncertain, mortgage hardship assistance can be an answer that relieves some of the stress, fear and overwhelm. 

Falling behind on mortgage payments isn’t just about money… it’s about the fear of losing the one place that feels like home. 

You Still Have Options

Even in this moment, when everything feels heavy, you're 30+ days past due on your mortgage and you don't see a path forward to get caught up, you still have options.

Mortgage hardship assistance is a path forward that can help you protect what matters most and move ahead with clarity and confidence.

Here, we'll introduce you to assistance programs and the best strategies for either staying in your home.

First Things First

While you might want it all to go away, and you still might be trying to process the hardship that caused you to be in the situation in the first place, it's important to shore up your resources and create a plan. This needs to happen sooner rather than later. 

The best first step at this point is to contact your lender to work out an agreement that fits your budget and situation. 

However, before you can have a productive conversation with your lender, you will need a clear understanding of why you're not able to make your payments, how much you can afford to pay and a plan for how to proceed. Take the following steps as soon as possible:

At the end of this initial conversation with your lender you should have information on how much you will need to pay and a plan for getting back on track. 

At 30 days you have a window of time to work with your lender to create a repayment plan or request hardship assistance.

Avoiding your lender, not returning calls and ignoring financial difficulties makes your situation worse. 

Are You Behind on Your Payments Because of a Money Management Issue?

A money management problem means you have enough money flowing into your bank account, but for whatever reason, the money is not being used to pay your bills.

This would include something that caused you to divert money that should have gone toward your mortgage payment to something else. Things like forgetting to pay your mortgage, taking a trip, buying new clothes lending money to others or otherwise blowing the money. 

These issues are somewhat easy to fix with financial counseling or using budgeting tools that keep you focused on paying your bills on time. 

Are You Experiencing a Hardship?

If you've experienced a recent hardship that has made it difficult for you to make your mortgage payment, you can request hardship assistance from your lender.

Depending on the loan program (VA, FHA, etc), you may qualify for varying types of assistance. Ask your lender for information on program available to you. 

Types of Hardship Assistance

Hardship assistant is temporary and permanent programs designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure during financial crises like job loss, illness, or natural disasters. Keep in mind that you must apply for these programs and be approved by your lender.

• Forbearance - Temporarily reduces or pauses payments, though you must repay this amount later.  
• Loan modification - Permanently changes terms (e.g., lower interest rate, extended term) to lower monthly payments.
• Repayment plan - Allows you to pay back missed payments over time along with your regular payments.
• Payment Supplement (FHA New for 2026): Reduces monthly payments for a three-year period by utilizing a partial claim to supplement the payment, targeting a 25% payment reduction.
  
• Partial Claim: Allows you to use FHA insurance to cover some missed payments. FHA's loss mitigation program allows homeowners to use FHA insurance benefits to cover missed payments through options like a Partial Claim, which places past-due amounts into an interest-free subordinate lien repayable only when the home is sold or the mortgage ends.
• Standalone Partial Claim: An FHA loss mitigation option that covers up to 30% of the unpaid principal balance to make the loan current, requiring no interest or monthly payments
• Standalone Loan Modification: An FHA loss mitigation option that permanently changes loan terms to resolve past due amounts.
• Combination Plan: An FHA Loss Mitigation option that blends a Partial Claim and Loan Modification for severe delinquency

You might be wondering what qualifies as a hardship? It's best to talk to your lender about various programs and what qualifies as a hardship. 

We've listed common reasons consumers default on their mortgages here and actions you can take to avoid foreclosure.

Past 60 Days and Approaching 90 Days Past Due?

As you approach 60, 90 and 120 days, its not impossible to fix things, but as time passes, the options available to stay in your home becomes more limited. 

If your lender starts legal proceedings, it's important to take the actions discussed at 30 days, and place your request in writing. Continue to work with your lender to request assistance even as the door to your window of opportunity closes.

This is important... Don't stop following up even if your loan goes into default or pre-foreclosure.  If your goal is to stay in your home or exit without losing your shirt, continue calling emailing, and documenting conversations) with your lender. Apply for any programs discussed, and open, respond to and act on each piece of mail or correspondence from your lender. 

If you're not sure what to do when you're receiving a surge of notices, phone calls and even documentation from the courts, schedule a free, no obligation consultation with one of our asset recovery specialists to discuss your situation.