Falling behind on the mortgage
Forbearance, repayment plans, and loan modification.
If you have fallen behind on the mortgage, or you can see it coming, your loan servicer has real ways to help, and there is a sensible order to ask for them. Forbearance pauses or lowers the payment for a while. A repayment plan spreads the past-due amount over time. A loan modification changes the loan for good. This is the servicer's lane, and a HUD-approved counselor can help you ask, at no cost to you.
Servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor come first, then the honest value. This page sits under the financial hardship hub.
Call your loan servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor first. The servicer has options it is generally required to tell you about and, once you apply, review you for, and a HUD-approved counselor's help costs nothing. Everything on this page is general information about the real estate side of a mortgage hardship, not legal or financial advice. I work alongside that help, never ahead of it.
On this page
The short answer
Your servicer holds the options, and there is an order to ask.
If you are behind on the mortgage, the first thing to know is that the company you send your payment to, your loan servicer, is the one with the power to help, and under federal servicing rules it is generally required to tell you what options it has and, once you apply, to review you for them. There are three main ones, and the plain versions are short. Forbearance is a temporary pause or reduction in the payment. A repayment plan spreads the past-due amount over time, added on top of your regular payment. A loan modification is a permanent change to the loan's terms so the regular payment is one you can carry. The right one depends on your situation, and you do not have to guess it alone.
So here is the whole page in two sentences. Before you make any move on the house, call your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counselor, because the counselor's help costs nothing and a single, complete application gets you reviewed for every option at once. And be honest about the shape of the hardship, because that, more than anything, decides which option fits: a short, over-and-done setback points one way, and a permanent drop in income points another. The rest of this page defines the three options, lays out the order to ask, shows what to have ready and what to get in writing, and says plainly what is left when none of them work. For the wider set of financial hardship decisions, start at the financial hardship hub.
The three, defined
Forbearance, repayment plan, and modification, in plain words.
These three words get used loosely, and the differences matter, because each solves a different problem. Here is what each one actually is, in plain words.
Forbearance, a temporary pause
Forbearance is when the servicer lets you stop paying, or pay less, for a set period while a hardship passes. It is breathing room, not forgiveness. You still owe every dollar you skip, and forbearance by itself does not erase or lower the balance. What it buys is time. The real question is always how you repay what you paused when the pause ends, which is where the next two options come in.
A repayment plan, catching up over time
A repayment plan is for when you can afford your normal payment again and just need to clear what fell behind. The servicer takes the past-due amount and spreads it out, adding a portion to each regular payment for a while until you are current. Nothing about the underlying loan changes. It simply lets you catch up gradually instead of in one lump sum you may not have.
A loan modification, a permanent change
A loan modification is for when the regular payment itself is no longer one you can carry. The servicer permanently changes the terms of the loan, which can mean adjusting the rate, stretching out the length, or moving the past-due amount into the balance, so the ongoing payment becomes manageable. It is the deepest of the three and the hardest to get, because the servicer has to agree to change the deal for good.
The order to ask
How to ask, and in what order.
You do not walk in and pick one off a shelf. You describe your situation, apply once, and the servicer reviews you for everything available on your loan. Still, knowing the sensible order helps you ask well and recognize a fair offer when it comes. Here is that order, as of September 2026.
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Call the servicer and a HUD-approved counselor, before anything
The company you pay is the one that can help, and the earlier you call, the more it can do. Then call a HUD-approved housing counselor, whose foreclosure-prevention help is free of charge. The counselor is on your side, knows what each servicer tends to offer, and helps you ask for the option that actually fits, so you are not working the process alone.
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Be honest about the hardship, temporary or lasting
The single fact that decides which option fits is the shape of the hardship. Is it a short setback that is already behind you, a rough patch you are still in, or a permanent drop in what you earn? Say so plainly, to yourself and to the counselor. A temporary problem and a permanent one lead to different options, and guessing wrong wastes the time you have.
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If the setback is over, ask about catching up
If the hardship has passed and your income is back, the lightest fix is usually to get current. That can mean reinstating, paying the past-due amount in one sum if you can, or a repayment plan that spreads it across your next several payments. This changes nothing about the loan itself, so servicers reach for it first when it will work.
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If you need breathing room, ask about forbearance
If you are in the middle of the hardship and simply cannot pay right now, ask about forbearance, a temporary pause or reduced payment while you recover. Get clear, in the same breath, on how the paused amount is repaid at the end, because a lump sum due all at once is not the only choice and often not the right one. A repayment plan, a deferral to the end of the loan, or a modification can resolve it instead.
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If the payment is no longer affordable, ask about a modification
If your income has dropped for good and the regular payment is out of reach even after the hardship, a loan modification is the option built for that. It is the hardest to get and takes the longest to review, so it is worth starting early and leaning on your counselor to assemble a clean, complete file.
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Apply once, completely, and keep it in writing
Submit one complete application rather than a trickle of documents. A complete, timely application gets you reviewed for all the options at once, and while it is pending the servicer generally cannot start or move ahead with a foreclosure. Keep copies of everything, and get any approval in writing before you rely on it. If the review ends without a workable option, that is the point to look hard at selling before a sale date.
What to have ready
What to bring, and what to get in writing.
A loss mitigation review runs on paperwork, and the file you hand over decides how fast it goes and how it turns out. Servicers generally want to see why you fell behind and whether you can pay going forward: a short written explanation of the hardship, recent proof of income or of the loss of it, recent bank statements, your most recent tax returns, and a simple picture of your monthly money in and out. A HUD-approved counselor will tell you exactly what your servicer expects and help you put it together, which is one more reason that call comes early. Send it as one complete package, not piece by piece, because a complete application is what starts the clock on the protections and gets you reviewed for everything at once.
The other half is what you get back. Any offer, a forbearance, a repayment plan, or a modification, should come to you in writing, and you should read it before you agree to anything. For forbearance, the line that matters most is how and when the paused amount is repaid. For a repayment plan, it is how much is added to each payment and for how long. For a modification, it is the new terms in full. If a modification is offered, it is not final until it is signed and the terms are spelled out, and nothing is guaranteed until then. When the language is unclear or the figures do not add up, that is a question for a HUD-approved counselor, and anything with a legal edge, a deficiency, a bankruptcy question, an eviction timeline, is a question for a Utah attorney.
When none of these work
When the loan cannot be saved, the house can still be handled well.
Sometimes the honest answer is that no forbearance, plan, or modification makes the loan work, because the income is simply not there to carry the home at all. That is hard to hear, and it is better to hear it early than to spend the months you have waiting for an option that will not come. If that is where you are, the goal shifts from keeping the house to leaving it on the best terms you can, and there are calmer exits than letting it go to a sale. The first is selling before a foreclosure sale date, if there is time and the home is worth more than the loan, which pays off the servicer and the past-due amount and leaves the rest with you. The path and the timing are in the guide to selling before the sale date.
If the home is worth less than the loan, a normal sale will not cover it, and the tool for that is a short sale, where the servicer agrees in writing to accept less than the full payoff. It takes longer and so has to start earlier. And if a foreclosure is genuinely coming, it is worth understanding how the process runs here, because a Utah foreclosure moves on recorded notices and months rather than days, which is more time than the fear usually says. Two guides cover that ground: how foreclosure works in Utah, and, when a job loss is what started all of this, job loss and your mortgage. Which of these is even possible turns on one number: what the home is worth today against what you owe. That number is the honest thing I can give you.
Where I fit
Honest numbers, and no rescue pitch.
Loss mitigation is the servicer's job and a HUD counselor's, start to finish, and a legal question is a Utah attorney's. The house itself, what it is worth, what a sale would clear, and a sale if it comes to that, is mine. Here is what I bring, and what I will not do.
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The number, told straight. I value the home from recent comparable sales and put it in writing, even when it is lower than you hoped, because that one figure decides whether selling is even an option and which one fits.
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No fast-cash pitch, ever. I do not buy houses and I do not hand you to people who do. If someone promises to halt a foreclosure for a fee paid up front, treat it as a warning sign, because a HUD-approved counselor does that work at no cost.
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Agent and lender, one straight answer. Because lending is my other license, I can tell you quickly whether any loan changes the picture. Usually it does not, a new loan is rarely the fix once you are behind, and that help belongs to your servicer. One role per transaction, always disclosed.
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Local in the south, connected statewide. In Southern Utah I handle the sale myself. Anywhere else in Utah I connect you with a partner agent I trust and stay involved, so the same standard holds wherever the house is.
Questions, answered
What people ask about forbearance and modification.
They solve three different problems. Forbearance is a temporary pause or reduced payment while a hardship passes, and you still owe every dollar you skip. A repayment plan is for when you can afford your normal payment again and just need to clear the past-due amount, which the servicer spreads across your next several payments. A loan modification is a permanent change to the loan's terms, for when the regular payment itself is no longer affordable. Which one fits depends on whether your hardship is temporary or lasting, and a HUD-approved counselor can help you decide.
You do not really pick one off a shelf. You describe your situation, apply once, and the servicer reviews you for every option available on your loan. That said, the sensible order follows the hardship. If the setback is over and your income is back, ask about catching up through a repayment plan. If you are still in the hardship and cannot pay now, ask about forbearance. If your income has dropped for good, ask about a modification. A HUD-approved housing counselor helps you ask for the right one, at no cost to you.
It depends on how it is set up and reported, so ask your servicer directly and get the answer in writing before you agree. Forbearance that a servicer approves is generally reported differently from simply missing payments with no plan, but the details vary by servicer and by loan, and any payments you missed before you set up a plan can still weigh on your credit. A HUD-approved counselor can help you understand how your specific arrangement will be reported. This is a question to settle up front, not to assume.
No. A modification is the servicer permanently changing the terms of your loan, and it has to agree to do that, so it is never automatic and never guaranteed. It is the deepest of the three options and the hardest to get, and it takes the longest to review. Nothing is final until you have a signed agreement that spells out the new terms in full. A HUD-approved counselor can help you put together a clean, complete application, which is the best thing you can do to be considered fairly.
No. Your loan servicer works with you on these options as part of servicing your loan, and a HUD-approved housing counselor provides foreclosure-prevention help free of charge. If anyone promises to stop a foreclosure or arrange relief for a fee paid in advance, treat it as a warning sign, because honest help does not ask for money up front. You can find a HUD-approved counselor through HUD or the CFPB.
Sometimes the income is not there to carry the home at all, and no forbearance, plan, or modification will fix that. It is better to know early. If there is time and the home is worth more than the loan, selling before a foreclosure sale date pays off the servicer and leaves the rest with you. If the home is worth less than the loan, a short sale is the tool for that. And if a foreclosure is genuinely coming, it helps to understand how the process runs in Utah, which moves over months rather than days. Getting an honest value on the home is what tells you which of these is even possible.
Keep exploring
Start with the two calls. I am here for the house.
I am Scott Buehler, a Utah real estate agent, a licensed mortgage lender, and a Southern Utah resident for more than 20 years. Forbearance, a repayment plan, and a modification all run through your servicer and a HUD-approved counselor, and that is exactly where they should start, at no cost to you. My part begins only if selling turns out to be the answer: an honest value in writing, the net a sale would clear, and a listing before any sale date if the numbers and the clock allow it. The legal and tax pieces stay with a Utah attorney and a CPA. Tell me where things stand and I will give it to you straight. No pressure, and your privacy kept.
Not in Southern Utah? I will connect you with a partner agent I trust in your area, and stay involved.