Staying on top of your mortgage payments can be difficult, especially if you’re facing unexpected financial hardships. Unexpected expenses or a loss of income could temporarily prevent you from making your mortgage payments.
The idea of missing a mortgage payment can be stressful. It’s understandable that you may have questions about your risk of foreclosure and potentially losing your home if you’re unable to make a mortgage payment.
A foreclosure attorney can help educate you about mortgages and the New Jersey foreclosure process. Contact Denbeaux Law today to learn more about how we may be able to help you navigate financial hardships and your mortgage.
Missing a Single Mortgage Payment
Missing a single mortgage payment may not have major consequences for your mortgage. Being late on one mortgage payment doesn’t typically trigger your home to enter the foreclosure process.
The most common consequence of missing a single mortgage payment is being charged a late fee. Most mortgages have a grace period of 10 – 15 days before a late fee is charged. If you make a late mortgage payment during this time period, you can often avoid having to pay the late fee.
Once you officially miss a mortgage payment and the grace period has passed, your lender will typically send you a notice that includes the late fee you’ve been charged.
Your lender may report your missed mortgage payment to the credit reporting bureaus. Missing a single mortgage payment could hurt your credit score. The negative impact on your credit score should be relatively small and can typically be improved in a few months if you resume your mortgage payments.
Missing Multiple Mortgage Payments
One missed payment won’t usually start the foreclosure process. The foreclosure process usually starts after three months or 90 days of consecutively missed payments.
During this time period, you can work with your lender to explore alternatives to avoid foreclosure. Working with a foreclosure attorney can help you explore your options and find the best solution for your situation.
Lender Contact
Maintaining a good relationship with your mortgage lender can make dealing with your mortgage easier. If you know in advance that you will be unable to make a mortgage payment, it’s recommended that you inform your lender.
Lenders may offer you options to help you make your mortgage payments if you give them time to work with you. You may be able to negotiate with your lender for a loan modification or work through other options to make your mortgage payments more affordable.
Communicating with your lender and having a good mortgage payment history may make them more likely to work with you. Sometimes, lenders may waive the late payment fee for homeowners with a good mortgage payment history.
You’ll likely hear from your lender if you don’t notify your lender before a missed mortgage payment. Your lender should contact you after a missed payment. It’s important to respond to this and get in touch with your lender. If you don’t respond, it could trigger the filing of a lis pendens and the start of the foreclosure process.
Contact a Foreclosure Attorney Today
Managing your finances and keeping up with your mortgage payments can be stressful, especially if you’re facing unexpected financial hardships.
There are a lot of options available to help homeowners work with their lenders and avoid foreclosure. A foreclosure attorney can work with you to negotiate your options with your lender.
Contact Joshua Denbeaux today to learn more about how we may be able to help make your mortgage payments more affordable.
