Worried about a mortgage payment? Start here

If you may miss a mortgage payment, contact your mortgage servicer—the company that receives your payments—early. Use the number on a verified statement or its official website, not an unsolicited “rescue” offer.

Explain what changed, whether the difficulty may be temporary and what income and expenses you currently have. Ask which assistance options might apply to your loan and what a complete application requires. Keep a dated record of calls, documents sent and promised follow-ups.

Before agreeing to relief, ask how missed amounts will be handled. Will payments rise later, will the loan term change, or could a balance become due? Forbearance or another temporary arrangement is not automatically debt cancellation. Get the offered terms in writing and do not assume someone else’s program applies to you.

A HUD-approved housing counselor can help explain options and work through paperwork; foreclosure-prevention counseling is available free. Be suspicious of guarantees, upfront rescue fees or instructions to stop talking to your servicer or transfer ownership.

Open every official notice. A complaint or assistance inquiry does not itself stop a foreclosure. If you receive legal papers or a sale date, seek qualified local legal help promptly while continuing verified communication with the servicer.