Mortgage Forbearance Explained: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Request It
If you're facing financial hardship — job loss, medical emergency, natural disaster, or other unexpected crisis — and struggling to make your mortgage payments, forbearance may provide crucial temporary relief. Understanding exactly what forbearance is, what it isn't, and what happens to the paused payments helps you make informed decisions during a stressful time.
What Is Mortgage Forbearance?
Mortgage forbearance is a formal agreement between you and your loan servicer to temporarily pause or reduce your mortgage payments for a defined period. It's not forgiveness — you still owe every dollar of the missed payments. Forbearance simply gives you time to stabilize your financial situation before resuming payments.
Forbearance is typically available for borrowers experiencing documented financial hardship: job loss, reduction in income, serious illness, natural disaster damage, or other qualifying circumstances. Your servicer has significant discretion in approving or denying forbearance requests.
What Happens to Missed Payments During Forbearance
This is the most critical thing to understand — forbearance is not free. The missed payments must be repaid. How they're handled varies by servicer and loan type:
Before requesting forbearance, ask your servicer specifically which repayment option will apply at the end. The lump-sum option is the most difficult for most borrowers — if your servicer offers payment deferral (adding missed payments to the end of your loan), that is usually the most manageable outcome.
How to Request Forbearance
- Contact your servicer immediately — the number is on your mortgage statement or loan documents. Don't wait until you've missed a payment.
- Explain your hardship clearly — be specific about the cause (job loss, illness, etc.) and your expected timeline for recovery
- Ask these key questions:
- How will you report this to credit bureaus?
- What are my repayment options at the end of forbearance?
- Is a payment deferral option available?
- Will you charge interest or fees during forbearance?
- Get the agreement in writing — do not rely on verbal agreements. Request written confirmation of the forbearance terms before stopping payments.
Forbearance vs. Loan Modification vs. Refinancing
Impact on Credit Score
Forbearance's credit impact depends on how your servicer reports it. If the servicer reports your account as "in forbearance" rather than "delinquent," the credit impact may be minimal. If payments are not marked as missed (as was required under COVID-19 CARES Act provisions), your score may not be affected.
Never simply stop making payments without a formal forbearance agreement. Missed payments reported to credit bureaus as delinquencies can drop your credit score significantly and remain on your report for 7 years. Always get a formal agreement in writing before pausing any payments.
After Forbearance Ends
When your forbearance period ends, you'll need to address the missed payments per the arrangement you made upfront. If you're still in financial difficulty at the end of the forbearance period, contact your servicer immediately — do not simply miss the reinstatement payment without communication. Options for extending hardship relief include:
- Extended forbearance (some servicers allow up to 18 months total)
- A formal loan modification
- A repayment plan structured over a longer period
- A short sale or deed-in-lieu if the hardship is permanent
If you return to financial stability and want to accelerate your recovery, consider making extra payments to rebuild equity faster — use our Extra Payment Calculator to model this.
When to Contact a HUD-Approved Housing Counselor
If you're facing mortgage distress, free HUD-approved housing counselors can help you evaluate all options, communicate with your servicer, and understand your rights. Find one at HUD.gov or call 800-569-4287. These services are free — avoid paid "mortgage relief" companies that charge fees for services HUD counselors provide for free.