Resources
Plain-language answers and trusted public resources.
Free help exists. Use these national resources alongside anything you discuss with us, and contact a licensed attorney immediately if you have a court deadline.
Free national resources
HUD-approved housing counseling
Free or low-cost counseling nationwide. Call 800-569-4287 or use the HUD housing-counselor search.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Visit the CFPB mortgage and housing assistance hub.
Legal Services Corporation
Find local civil legal aid with the LSC legal-aid directory.
Mortgage terms in one sentence
- Loss mitigation
- The servicer's review process for alternatives to foreclosure.
- Reinstatement
- Paying the full past-due amount required to bring the loan current.
- Repayment plan
- Spreading part of the past-due balance across future monthly payments.
- Forbearance
- A temporary pause or reduction in payments; the amount is still owed.
- Loan modification
- A permanent change to one or more terms of the existing mortgage.
- Short sale
- A lender-approved sale for less than the total debt owed on the property.
- Deed-in-lieu
- A voluntary transfer of title to the lender instead of completing foreclosure.
- Sheriff's sale
- A court-ordered auction of the property at the end of a foreclosure case.