You want to keep it.
Most people who call us behind on payments assume selling is the only thing left.
There are three paths that could end with you keeping the house. We will walk you through all three, tell you which ones your situation might fit, and help connect you to the people who do them.
No cost. No obligation.
In this order, always.
These appear in the same order on this site and in everything we send out. Your servicer's loss mitigation department decides which one might apply.
Loan modification
A permanent change to the terms of the loan you already have, made by the lender, based on hardship. Not a refinance. It adjusts the existing loan instead of replacing it.
Lenders may consider: lowering the interest rate, extending the term to 30 or 40 years, setting aside part of the principal as a non-interest balloon due at sale or payoff, adding the missed payments and escrow shortage back into the balance, and in limited hardship programs an outright principal reduction, which is rare.
How it usually goes: call the servicer's loss mitigation department and request a hardship package. Send it back complete, with income proof, bank statements, a hardship letter, and tax returns. An incomplete file is the most common reason these stall. You may be put on a trial payment plan, typically three months of on-time modified payments before it is finalized. The servicer's review usually takes 60 to 120 days for the servicer to review.
Foreclosure activity may or may not pause while a modification is under review. Confirm that with your servicer in writing. Do not assume it.
Repayment or reinstatement
Reinstatement means paying the past-due amount so the loan goes back to current. In North Carolina you generally have the right to reinstate up until the sale, and the exact deadline depends on your loan and where you are in the process.
A repayment plan is different. The servicer spreads the missed payments across your next several payments instead of demanding them all at once. Whether one is available depends on your loan type, your servicer, and how far behind you are.
Ask your servicer for a written reinstatement quote, and ask when it expires.
Refinance or new financing
Replacing the loan entirely. Depends on timing, credit, equity, and what a lender will do. This one closes off quickly once a filing is on record, so if it is your path act promptly.
There is also free help, and sometimes it is the right answer.
HUD-approved housing counselors do not charge homeowners and they do this every day. If there is a hearing date, a bankruptcy question, or an estate filing involved, that is an attorney's job and not ours. We can help you find one. Estate and Bankruptcy Attorney's do charge for their success.
HUD-approved housing counselor
Free, approved by the federal government. They can look at your whole situation and tell you what applies.
800-569-4287Your servicer's loss mitigation department
Free. The number is on your mortgage statement. They are the only ones who can change the terms of your loan.
Not every path applies to every situation and timing and lender rules are the final determining factors.
Here is what we actually do on this side.
We help you understand what is publicly filed on your property, we explain how these options generally work, and we tell you which ones look realistic for your situation. We do not submit your modification, we do not negotiate with your servicer, and we do not charge you.
If we think keeping it is your best move, we will tell you, and then we will let you take it from there. But we are always a text or call away.
86 Google reviews · Verified on Google
“They told me to keep the house and call my lender first. Nobody else said that. I did, and I kept it.”
“Trace and the team handled our inherited property seamlessly. They pulled all the deed records at their cost and kept every family member on the same page.”
“I was behind on payments and panicked. They walked me through my loss mitigation options first. When I decided to sell, they made it simple and stress-free.”
OfferPalm LLC is a private real estate investment company. We are not a law firm, not a financial advisory service, and not affiliated with any government agency, lender, or collection agency. Nothing here is legal or financial advice. Always get independent legal or financial advice before making a decision about your property or your loan.