Your Loan

• Before seeking assistance elsewhere, contact your current lender and inform them that you are struggling to make mortgage payments. Specifically, ask about your refinancing options and, if available to you, explore how you can work out a solution with them. Your lender may be able to work out a solution to keep you in your home including a loan modification, deferment of payments or partial loan forgiveness. Contact your lender today to explore your options.
  
  

Government Assistance

• Is your home loan backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs or Federal Housing Administration? Is so, visit their respective website to learn what can be done through these government agencies on your behalf. Since 2009, mostly everyone who has been having difficulty paying their mortgages have been referred to the federal site MakingHomeAffordable.gov as a way for them to gain relief. The federal program offers a loan modification for eligible borrowers once a trial period has been completed. Visit this website to see what help is available to you. Be mindful of deadlines and remain in communication with your lender.
  
  

Tips and Warnings

• With millions of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, scam artists have surfaced in a bid to lure unsuspecting homeowners into loan modification programs that do little except benefit themselves. Stick with your current lender for assistance. If anyone else makes a home loan offer to you, make sure that an accountant or attorney representing you reviews their offer. You could lose your home if you agree to terms that are unfavorable to you.
  
  Lastly, be proactive in seeking help--you are your best representative. Be prepared to submit documentation showing proof of income, pay stubs and tax returns. If turned down at the federal level, ask what other options are available to you. Contact your state's office of the attorney general to learn what rights you have as a homeowner; learn the procedures for foreclosure in your state including notifications and deadlines. Obtain legal representation to defend your property.