Help with

your mortgage 

Available options for homeowners 

who have been affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic or other

hardship and are having difficulty

making their mortgage payments.
 

If you are experiencing a financial hardship related to the 

COVID-19 pandemic or other hardships and are struggling 

to make your mortgage payments, you may be eligible for 

mortgage assistance. 

There are solutions that may be available to help you stay 

in your home and bring your mortgage current. There are 

also solutions should you be unable to stay in your home 

while avoiding foreclosure. 

What is a hardship? 

Examples of hardships include unemployment, reduction in income, increase in 

housing-related expenses, divorce or separation, long-term or permanent disability 

or serious illness, death of a homeowner or primary or secondary wage-earner, 

distant employment transfer, or a natural disaster. 

Financial hardship resulting from COVID-19 may include unemployment, reduction 

in regular work hours, or illness of a borrower/co-borrower or dependent family 

member that has impacted a homeowner’s ability to make their monthly 

mortgage loan payment. 

What is a temporary

vs. long-term hardship? 

A temporary hardship is an event or circumstance expected to resolve within six months, 

while a long-term hardship extends longer than six months. You will need to tell your 

servicer about your hardship so they can determine the best option to help you. 

Who is my servicer? 

Your servicer is the company to which you send your monthly mortgage payment. 

Options to stay in your home 

Even if you haven’t yet missed a mortgage payment, if you are worried you might 

fall behind, now is the time to ask for help. The options described below may be 

available to you depending on your circumstances. You may need to complete 

a Mortgage Assistance Application for some of these options. 
 

 

 

Options to stay in your home (continued)*

Overview Benefit

Forbearance plan • Make reduced payments or no payments for 

a specific period (for example, six months). 

During this time, foreclosure proceedings will 

be delayed or suspended, but your mortgage 

will become increasingly delinquent. 

• Allows you time to resolve your hardship. 

• You have the option to pay all past due amounts 

immediately or through a short-term repayment 

plan, if you can. Alternatively, you will be evaluated 

for other home retention options, such as a 

payment deferral or mortgage modification. 

Reinstatement • Pay all past due amounts in a single payment. 

• Available if you have the funds to pay now. 

• Allows you to bring your mortgage 

current immediately, if you can. 

Repayment plan • Pay past due amounts over an extended period in 

addition to your regular monthly payments. 

• May be available if you have sufficient income to 

cover more than your regular monthly payment. 

• Allows you time to bring your mortgage current 

over a period of time by making additional monthly 

payments to cover past-due amounts. 

Payment deferral • Delay repayment of past-due principal and interest 

payments and other past-due amounts, which 

will become due at the earlier of the mortgage 

maturity date, payoff date, or sale or transfer 

of the property. 

• May be available if you can resume your monthly 

mortgage payment. 

• Your monthly payment may increase if needed to 

cover escrowed amounts that are not deferred. 

• Allows you to bring your mortgage current 

immediately by delaying (deferring) repayment 

of past-due amounts without changing other terms 

of your mortgage loan. Interest is not charged on 

the past-due amounts deferred. 

Modification • Permanently change some of the terms of your 

mortgage, such as the interest rate or mortgage 

term, to modify your monthly payment amount. 

• May require you to make three months of trialperiod plan payments to ensure you can afford 

the new payment. 

• May be available if you cannot resume making 

your existing mortgage payment. 

• Allows you to bring your mortgage current by 

permanently modifying your mortgage terms 

making your payment more sustainable and 

typically results in a lower monthly payment. 

* Your credit score may be impacted by many factors. Under the CARES Act, a federal law that helps consumers impacted by COVID-19, special credit 

reporting may apply for consumers impacted by COVID-19. A consumer whose account was not previously delinquent is reported as current on their loan 

if they have received an accommodation, such as forbearance, and make any payments the accommodation requires (if any). You should talk with your 

servicer if you have questions about how your payment activity will be reported and how you can find out more about potential impact to your credit score. 

Options to leave your home 

While it may be difficult to think about leaving your home, it may be the best option if other solutions 

to keep you in your home are no longer possible. Your servicer should be able to answer any questions 

you may have about the options described below. 

Overview Benefit

Short sale • Sell your house and pay off your mortgage 

for less than the full amount you owe 

on your mortgage. 

• There may be tax consequences — 

you should consult a tax advisor. 

• Depart your home without 

experiencing foreclosure. 

• You may also be eligible for relocation 

funds to help you with your move. 

Mortgage release/ 

Deed-in-lieu of 

foreclosure 

• Transfer ownership of your home to the company 

that owns your mortgage in exchange for a release 

from your mortgage debt. 

• There may be tax consequences — 

you should consult a tax advisor. 

• Depart your home without 

experiencing foreclosure. 

• You may also be eligible for relocation 

funds to help you with your move. 
 

Want to learn more? 

Additional resources for mortgage assistance: 

•	 Fannie Mae’s KnowYourOptions.com 

• Fannie Mae’s fanniemae.com/heretohelp/kyo 

• Freddie Mac’s #HelpStartsHere 

• Freddie Mac’s My Home® 

Language assistance 

Resources to help you understand your options may be available through our call center and are 

also available through housing counseling agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD). You can find a list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies at 

HUD.gov/counseling: 

1. Select “housing counseling agency” near you, then select your state. 

2. To locate housing counseling agencies in your area that speak your language,

select “Click here to narrow your search” and select a language.

3. Or, call HUD at 800-569-4287 for help in finding a counselor. 

Information about housing counselors is also available at consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housing-counselor. 

For additional information about COVID-19 assistance and about avoiding foreclosure,

visit cfpb.gov/housing, an official website of the United States government.

In addition, resources in multiple languages are available at fhfa.gov/mortgagetranslations.