Know Your Options

These are solutions that allow you to keep your home. Banks sometimes call this process a “loan workout plan.” But sometimes keeping your home doesn’t make sense.

Solutions for temporary problems:

Forbearance
You get a period of time to pay less than your monthly mortgage payment. Sometimes you can pay nothing at all. You have to prove that you’ll be able to afford repayment at a future time.

Reinstatement
You can repay the amount you owe in one lump sum. This is sometimes combined with forbearance.

Repayment Plan
This combines the amount you owe from the past with your regular monthly payment. This lets you pay back your debt over time.

Solutions for longer-term problems:

Loan modification
This is a good choice if you can still afford your monthly payment but can’t catch up on the past amount due. Your mortgage company gives you a written agreement that changes the original terms of your loan. This makes your payments more affordable.

Here are some options:

• Add missed payments to your existing loan balance
• Change an adjustable rate (ARM) to a fixed rate mortgage
• Increase the number of years to repay