What to Do If You Can’t Make Your Mortgage Payment

It’s every persons nightmare; not being able to make those mortgage payments. You may have lost your job, be facing surgery or had some really big, unexpected bills and now you have no money left to pay for your mortgage. So, what to do?

Hiding in the closet will get you nowhere, so avoid the temptation. The first thing to do is get in touch with your loans officer or lending institution and tell them of the problem. They may be able to suggest a solution. Mostly they don’t do anything until two payments have been missed. This will give you a bit of leeway to come up with a way to get that money - but make it legal or you’ll be in more trouble.

Perhaps you or another member of the family could take on a second job. If the problem is only for this one month, then maybe a friend or family member can lend you the one payment. If you are truly desperate, move the kids into one bedroom and rent out the other one. This might be just enough to see you through a tough time.

If your home is big enough, you may be able to close off a door and make a flat out of half the house. This would bring in more rent than a single room. Whatever you do be sure to open all the mail you get from your lender so that you know what’s going to happen. The first one or two will give you information on how to prevent foreclosure, while any after that will probably tell you about the legal action they are taking.

Foreclosure laws are different in every state, so you’ll need to find out what the laws are in your state. Your state government housing office will be able to tell you.

Meanwhile, if all your plans for extra money fail, you need to call the Center for Foreclosure Solutions on 888-495 (HOPE) 4873. Don’t be embarrassed; you’ll have plenty of company in the myriads of other callers. Here you will find many financial counselors, investors and mortgage servicers and other people who are trained to help those in your situation.

Another place to call is a Housing Counseling Agency approved by HUD. The number is 800-569-4287. Or you could go to the HUD website to look up one that may be closer to you.

Many people think that paying off their credit card is the most important thing to do after buying food, but this is not right. Credit card debt cannot take away your home; missed loan payments can. Do whatever you can to keep up those payments.