Can Forbearance Help You?

Arlene Schneider
Forbearance is word you are going to be hearing more of in the future as people continue to have problems paying their mortgages. In recent years people have experiences more problems paying their mortgages due to variable rate mortgages and changes in the economy. These two things have left thousands of people scrambling for options that will keep their homes out of foreclosure.

Foreclosure is something that a lender uses as a last resort. If you have been upfront with your mortgage company through your financial difficulties, they will be willing to work with you to keep you out of foreclosure. Everybody loses when proceedings get to that point. This makes forbearance a viable option for avoiding foreclosure.

Forbearance is used most often in the student loan industry, but it is becoming much more common among mortgage lenders as they look for ways to keep their clients out of foreclosure. Forbearance can allow you to keep your home and become current on your payments. Forbearance may be combined with some of the lender's other hardship programs to help you bring your account current after some agreed upon actions take place, such as, 3 on-time payments.
Simply put, forbearance allows you to defer payments for a short period of time. Interest does accrue during this time. You may be required to pay the interest during the deferment period or it may be added to the end of the loan along with the principle. You will be signing an agreement with the lender that states the terms of the forbearance.

This is a payment option that is beginning to be talked about more among lenders that are trying to keep their clients out of the courts. This is not an easy time for many homeowners in this country. A great number of people have been caught in a trap with variable rate mortgages and homes that are now valued at an amount that is less than they paid for these homes. If you are one of these people, it is wise to talk to your lender. Many people avoid this, not knowing that the lender many times has debt relief options that the homeowner is not aware of. Forbearance is just one option you may want to explore of your experiencing difficulty meeting your mortgage obligations. Do not give up. Talk to your lender and exhaust all your options when it comes to keeping your home.

Published by Arlene Schneider

I work full time, am married and have one teenage son.  View profile

1 Comments

Post a Comment
  • renee shaffer10/22/2008

    very informative article on this topic. i unfortunately know all to well what it is. thanks for sharing this information with others.

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.