Behind on the Mortgage? Free HUD Counseling and Your Loss-Mitigation Options
Missing a mortgage payment feels like the start of a countdown, and in a way it is. Federal rules give you a window to ask for help before foreclosure can begin. Here's how that window works, what your servicer might offer, and how a free HUD-approved housing counselor can do much of the heavy lifting with you.
AT A GLANCE
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Why the first few weeks matter
The CFPB's homeowner guide is blunt about timing: the sooner you call your servicer or a housing counselor, the more options you will have. A late fee usually kicks in after the 15th of the month, and a loan that is 30 days past due may be reported to the credit bureaus as delinquent.
Mortgage assistance has a formal name: loss mitigation. Federal servicing rules (Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024) set out when your servicer must reach out and how it must handle your request.
A complete application, sent early, is the strongest protection a homeowner has. It pauses foreclosure steps while your servicer decides.
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The federal timeline, day by day
These dates come from Regulation X and the CFPB's homeowner guide. They count from the first payment you missed.
Days behind | What happens |
|---|---|
30 days | Your servicer may report the loan as delinquent to credit bureaus. |
By day 36 | Your servicer must try to make live contact with you and tell you about assistance options, if appropriate. |
By day 45 | Your servicer must send a written notice and assign staff to help you with your options. |
After 120 days | The earliest point a servicer can usually make the first foreclosure notice or filing. |
The 120-day rule has narrow exceptions, such as a due-on-sale clause violation, that ordinary missed payments don't trigger. If your servicer calls, pick up. The CFPB's advice is to accept those calls.
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Options your servicer may offer
The CFPB lists refinancing, loan modification, repayment plans, forbearance, short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure as options a servicer might make available. What you can actually get depends on your loan's investor or insurer and your situation.
Options to keep your home
Option | Who it may suit | How it works |
|---|---|---|
Reinstatement | You had a short setback and now have the money to catch up | You pay the full amount owed. No formal plan. |
Repayment plan | You missed a few payments but can pay extra for a while | Higher payments for a set time until you're current. The CFPB guide says plans are generally 2 to 6 months but may be longer. |
Forbearance | Your hardship is temporary, like a job loss, illness or disaster | Payments are paused or reduced for a limited time. You still owe the full amount and repay it later. |
Loan modification | You want to stay but can no longer afford the payment | Your loan terms change. Missed payments may be added to the balance and the term may be extended. Many start with a 3- or 4-month trial plan. |
Refinance | You haven't missed recent payments and rates or a longer term would lower your payment | A new loan pays off the old one. You apply, qualify and pay fees. |
Options if you're ready to leave
Option | How it works |
|---|---|
Sell the home | If it's worth more than you owe, you sell, pay off the loan and keep what's left. No servicer approval is needed. |
Short sale | If you owe more than it's worth, you find a buyer and the servicer must approve the sale and forgive the difference. |
Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure | You hand the home to the servicer and move out. Approval may mean you don't owe the remaining balance. |
The CFPB says these exit options are typically less expensive and quicker than foreclosure and can do less damage to your credit. Its advice: don't just walk away.
Ask about forbearance carefully
Forbearance doesn't erase anything. The CFPB describes three ways missed payments get repaid: all at once when payments restart, added to the end of the loan, or as higher monthly payments for a set time. Ask which one applies before you agree.
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How a HUD-approved housing counselor helps
HUD supports a national network of approved housing counseling agencies, and the CFPB says counseling is available in many languages. According to the CFPB's guide, a counselor can:
Explain your situation and the assistance options your servicer offers
Tell you which documents your servicer will want
Contact your servicer and help prepare and submit your application for you
Build a budget with you so you can see what payment you can really afford
Point you to other local resources
The CFPB says there is no charge to work with a HUD-approved housing counseling agency when you're having trouble paying your mortgage.
How to reach help | Details |
|---|---|
HOPE Hotline | (888) 995-HOPE (4673), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY: 877-304-9709 |
CFPB counselor search | consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor (search by ZIP code) |
CFPB phone | (855) 411-CFPB (2372) to be connected to a housing counselor |
HUD list | HUD's nationwide list of approved agencies, linked from the CFPB search page |
Not every agency offers every service, so the CFPB suggests checking each agency's list of services. Look for foreclosure or default counseling.
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Your protections when you apply
Regulation X sets rules for how servicers handle a loss mitigation application. These are the ones that matter most for timing.
If your servicer receives... | The rule |
|---|---|
Any application, 45 or more days before a foreclosure sale | Within 5 business days, it must tell you in writing whether the application is complete and, if not, which documents are missing and a date to send them. |
A complete application more than 37 days before a sale | Within 30 days, it must evaluate you for all options available and tell you in writing what it will offer. |
A complete application before foreclosure is first filed | It can't make the first foreclosure notice or filing until you've been found ineligible, you've turned down every option or you've failed to follow an agreement. |
A complete application after filing but more than 37 days before a sale | It can't move for judgment or hold the sale until one of those same things happens. |
A complete application 90 or more days before a sale | If a loan modification is denied, you can appeal within 14 days. Different staff must review it and respond within 30 days. |
Note what the rules don't do. They don't require your servicer to approve you for anything, and they mostly apply to your first complete application. After that, the protections generally don't apply again unless you got current in between. The CFPB's guide says that if you bring the loan current after your first application, you can apply again and get a full review. Small servicers have lighter rules, but the 120-day wait still applies to them.
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Applying step by step
Find out who backs your loan. The CFPB says your servicer must tell you who owns, insures or backs it. FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans each have their own options.
Call a housing counselor. Do it before or right after your first call to the servicer, so you go in knowing your options.
Call your servicer and ask for a mortgage assistance application. Ask for a specialist, explain why you can't pay and say whether the problem is temporary or permanent.
Gather your documents. The CFPB lists paystubs, bank statements and benefit award letters as examples. You may also need a hardship letter.
Send a complete application as early as you can. Keep copies and proof of when you sent it.
Watch for the acknowledgment letter. If it lists missing items, send them by the date given.
Review any offer carefully. Ask what your payment will be, what you'll owe in total and how long the plan lasts. If a modification is denied, ask about your appeal right.
Before you call
☐ Your latest mortgage statement, with your loan number
☐ The date of your first missed payment and how much you're behind
☐ What caused the hardship and whether it's temporary or permanent
☐ Monthly income after taxes, and all household expenses
☐ Recent paystubs, bank statements and any benefit award letters
☐ Any letters from your servicer, especially about foreclosure or missing documents
☐ Military orders, if you've received permanent change of station orders. The CFPB says this can matter.
If you need to explain your situation in writing, our hardship letter guide has a mortgage template.
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Spotting foreclosure rescue scams
The CFPB says you don't have to pay anyone to help you avoid foreclosure. Help is free from your servicer or a HUD-approved counseling agency. In an archived advisory, it noted that federal law bans law firms, except in very limited cases, from taking payment for help with a modification before you've signed a modification agreement with your lender.
Warning signs the CFPB lists:
Asking you to pay upfront for help
Guaranteeing a modification or that you won't lose your home
Asking you to sign over the title or sign papers you don't understand
Telling you to send payments to anyone but your servicer
Offering a "forensic audit"
Telling you to stop paying your mortgage
Claiming a government connection or using a seal that looks almost official
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If you've been served with foreclosure papers
The CFPB says that if foreclosure is imminent or you've been served with legal papers, you may also need a lawyer. You may qualify for free help from legal aid. Servicemembers should contact their local Legal Assistance Office. If you have a problem with your servicer, you can file a complaint with the CFPB. It says it forwards complaints to the company and works to get a response, generally within 15 days.
If the lender or servicer has treated you unfairly because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability, the CFPB guide points to a fair housing complaint with HUD at 800-669-9777.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
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Related help
If the mortgage is one of several bills you're behind on, our guide to free and low-cost debt relief help covers nonprofit credit counseling. For local help with utilities or food while you sort out the mortgage, see how to get real referrals from 211.
Official sources
Last checked: October 23, 2026 (CFPB mortgage options and forbearance pages, last reviewed Aug 28, 2026; Regulation X as published on eCFR Oct 21, 2026).
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