If you’re behind on mortgage payments or worried you can’t pay your mortgage, you’re not alone. Financial struggles can happen to anyone, and it’s important to know that you have options that can help you manage your payments and avoid foreclosure. 

If you’re behind on mortgage payments or worried about foreclosure, Denbeaux & Denbeaux may be able to help. Contact us today to discuss your situation and learn how our foreclosure attorneys may be able to help you protect your home. 

Step 1: Contact Your Mortgage Lender

The first thing you should do if you have missed mortgage payments is contact your lender. As hard as it may feel to start the conversation, avoiding it only limits your options. Most lenders are more willing to work with homeowners who reach out early and explain their situation. 

Your lender can explain how to get help with mortgage paymentsand may offer assistance programs to help you stay in your home. The earlier you reach out, the more options you’ll have and the more willing your lender will be to work with you. Some of these options are also helpful if you feel you can no longer afford your mortgage.

Before you agree to any of these options, it’s often helpful to speak with a foreclosure attorney to help you decide which options may be right for you. We offer free consultations to help you understand what you can do if you’re behind on your mortgage payments.

Step 2: Understand the Foreclosure Process in New Jersey

Falling behind on mortgage payments doesn’t mean your home will be taken away immediately. Because New Jersey is a judicial foreclosure state, your lender has to file a lawsuit in court before they can take your home, which gives you time and options to respond. 

Understanding how New Jersey foreclosure works and where you are in the process can help you figure out what to do next if you’re facing foreclosure. It’s also important to understand your rights during the foreclosure process.

Below is an overview of what happens if you get behind on your mortgage and the foreclosure process begins:

  • Notice of Intent to Foreclose (NOI): After missing several payments, your lender will send a notice stating their intent to start foreclosure. 
  • Answer Period: You have 35 days to respond to the complaint and fight the foreclosure. If you ignore the complaint, your lender can move forward without challenge.
  • Foreclosure Complaint: If no solution is reached, your lender files a complaint in court to officially start the legal foreclosure process.
  • Final Judgement: If the court sides with the lender, a judgment is issued that allows your home to be scheduled for sale. 
  • Sheriff’s Sale & Eviction: Your home is sold at a public auction. Once it’s sold, an eviction date is set. 

If you don’t answer the complaint, the foreclosure process can be swift, and you can be evicted in a very short time. When you don’t answer the complaint, New Jersey uses a streamlined foreclosure process. However, if you answer the complaint or opt to investigate your lender for RESPA violations, you can delay the foreclosure or stop it entirely.

There are legal actions you can take throughout the New Jersey foreclosure process to fight foreclosure and protect your home. Contact Denbeaux & Denbeaux today for a free consultation to discuss your situation and learn how we may be able to help. 

Step 3: Explore Your Options

If you’re asking what to do if you can’t pay your mortgage, here are some options that can help you manage your payments and avoid foreclosure.

  1. Make Up Delinquent Payments: If you’ve been behind on your mortgage, the fastest way to stop foreclosure is to make up all of your missed payments and any late fees or penalties and bring your mortgage current. However, if you’re struggling to make payments, this may not be a good option. 
  2. Loan Modification: A home loan modification allows you to modify the original loan that you owe to your mortgage lender. This could mean reducing the interest rate, splitting the payments into smaller amounts, extending the loan to reduce payment amounts, or reducing the principal of the loan to make the payments more manageable.
  1. Forbearance: A mortgage forbearance is a short-term mortgage relief agreement between a homeowner and a lender. During a forbearance agreement, mortgage payments are reduced or suspended for a set period of time.
  1. Repayment Plan: A repayment plan allows you to catch up on missed payments by spreading them out over a set period of time. Your lender will add a portion of the overdue amount to your regular monthly payment until you’re caught up.
  1. Refinancing: Refinancing is the process of replacing your current mortgage with a new loan, usually one with a lower interest rate or better terms. If rates have dropped since you first took out your mortgage, refinancing could help lower your monthly payments and make them more manageable over the long term.

Step 4: Create a New Financial Strategy

A lot of people think that if they can’t make the full mortgage payment, there’s no point in paying anything at all, but that’s not true. Even making a partial payment shows your lender you’re trying, which can give you more time and options to avoid foreclosure.

If you’re asking yourself, “can’t afford mortgage, what to do?” one of the most helpful things you can do is to look for ways to lower your expenses, starting with housing-related costs.

Here are a few ways you may be able to reduce your housing expenses: 

  1. Apply for hardship assistance through your lender or utility providers
  2. Shop around for lower homeowner insurance rates or bundle your policies for a discount
  3. Appeal your property tax assessment if your home’s value has gone down
  4. Cut back on energy and water usage, where possible, to lower utility bills
  5. Ask your HOA about payment plans or temporary relief options, if applicable

If you’ve already reduced your housing costs, it could be worth revisiting your personal spending. Freeing up even a small amount of money to put toward your mortgage can make a difference in keeping your options open and protecting your home. 

Step 5: Watch Out for Fraud and Scams

Unfortunately, scams are common when people fall behind on mortgage payments. Scammers know you’re in a vulnerable position and will try to take advantage of that. 

When you work with a licensed attorney, they are held to strict ethical and professional standards, which means you have legal protections in place if something goes wrong. Predatory lenders and foreclosure “rescue” companies are not held to those same standards and will prey on homeowners in vulnerable situations to take their money or home. 

Knowing what to look out for can help you avoid being scammed. Common foreclosure scams include: 

  • Equity Stripping: When a company offers to buy your home and rent it back to you, but what they are really doing is stripping away your equity and ownership rights.
  • Fake Counseling Agencies: When scammers claim they can negotiate with your lender, take an upfront fee or monthly payments, and disappear.
  • Debt-Elimination: When someone claims they can eliminate your mortgage loan debt for an upfront fee. These companies often have fake documents that look real.
  • Loan Flipping: When a lender convinces you to refinance over and over, it’s usually a sign of loan flipping. Each new loan piles on higher interest rates, fees, and penalties, often making your situation worse.
  • Phony Government Programs: Scammers create fake websites or calls pretending to be from official government programs to trick you into paying for fake help.
  • Foreclosure Rescue Fraud: When a company promises to save your home but asks you to sign over your title. Once you hand over ownership, you lose your home, and they’re under no obligation to let you stay or buy it back.

Being aware of common scams and consulting with an attorney about your options can help you avoid being taken advantage of at an already difficult period in your life. 

Step 6: Talk to a Foreclosure Attorney About Your Options

If you’re behind on your mortgage or worried about losing your home, don’t wait to take action. The sooner you act, the more options you’ll have to protect your home. 

An experienced foreclosure attorney can help you understand where you are in the foreclosure process, explain your rights, and walk you through the options available to you based on your specific situation. 

Contact foreclosure defense attorney Joshua Denbeaux today for a free consultation to talk through your situation and see how we can help.

Attorney

Joshua Denbeaux is a Partner at Denbeaux & Denbeaux, concentrating his practice on financial consumer rights issues and foreclosure defense. He has substantial experience in legal matters related to foreclosure, loan modification, debt collection, and the prosecution of cases related to predatory lending. Mr. Denbeaux received his law degree in 1994 from Seton Hall University after completing his undergraduate work at The College of Wooster. Mr. Denbeaux is licensed to practice in the United States District Courts for New Jersey.