A job loss, a medical bill, or a car repair that wipes out your savings can make the next FHA payment look impossible. The worst response is silence. Servicers can only offer relief to borrowers they know are struggling, and the options narrow with each missed payment. Duane Buziak, who works with FHA borrowers every day, sees the same pattern repeatedly: the borrowers who protect their homes are the ones who act early and in a sensible order.
The six strategies below follow that order. Some are temporary pauses, some are permanent fixes, and one is free outside help. Forbearance in particular is a pause, not a solution, so each strategy is paired with the exit you should plan for. Rules and programs change, so treat everything here as accurate as of October 2026 and confirm current terms with your servicer and at hud.gov.
1. Call Your Servicer Before You Miss a Payment
Your servicer is the company you send your monthly payment to. It may not be the company that originated your loan. It is also the only party that can approve relief on your FHA loan, through a process called loss mitigation: the set of tools a servicer uses to help a borrower avoid foreclosure. Servicers are expected to evaluate borrowers for these options, and the full menu is widest when the loan is still current or only days late. As delinquency deepens, some options require more paperwork or fewer choices remain.
Consider an illustration. A borrower’s employer cuts her hours, and she knows her next two paychecks will not cover the mortgage. She calls the servicer two weeks before the due date, explains the situation, and receives a hardship packet. Compare that with the borrower who waits until the payment is 90 days late and faces late fees, a larger arrearage, and a shorter decision window.
To put this into practice:
- Gather your loan number, a two or three sentence hardship explanation, and a snapshot of monthly income and expenses.
- Call the number on your statement and ask specifically for the loss mitigation department, not general customer service.
- Ask which FHA options you may be evaluated for and what documents the servicer needs.
- Log the date, the representative’s name, and every instruction. Follow up the call with a short written message through the servicer’s portal or by mail.
The most common mistake is waiting, and its close cousin is ignoring servicer letters. Those letters often contain deadlines for returning a packet, and a missed deadline can close off an option. Open every piece of mail, even when the news is bad.
Also drop the idea that stopping payments quietly is safe. Pandemic-era forbearance rules, under which many borrowers could request relief with little documentation, are not the standard today. Current requests generally follow the servicer’s present evaluation process. The consumer protection agency consumerfinance.gov publishes plain-language guidance on contacting servicers and your rights.
What to measure: written confirmation that a loss mitigation review has started, plus a decision timeline. If you only have a verbal promise, you do not yet have a result.
2. Request a Formal FHA Forbearance Plan
Forbearance is an agreement that temporarily reduces or suspends your mortgage payments because of a documented hardship. It works because it buys time while the cause of your shortfall resolves: recovery from surgery, a gap between jobs, a seasonal slowdown. It does not erase anything. Interest keeps accruing, and the skipped amounts remain owed.
That last point is the biggest misconception. Many borrowers hear “pause” and assume “forgiven.” Suppose a borrower on medical leave receives a three-month plan. If her regular payment is $1,700, roughly $5,100 in payments went unpaid and still has to be addressed when the plan ends. Handled well, she reviews her exit options in month two, not on the last day.
Forbearance should be paired with an exit. Depending on your circumstances and what the servicer offers, the end of a plan can lead to:
- A lump-sum payment of the missed amount, if you have the funds.
- A repayment plan that spreads the catch-up across future payments (Strategy 3).
- A partial claim that moves the missed amount into a separate lien (Strategy 4).
- A loan modification if the hardship turns out to be permanent (Strategy 5).
To put this into practice:
- Submit the hardship documents the servicer requests, such as a letter, pay stubs, or medical or layoff paperwork.
- Get the plan terms in writing: start date, end date, the reduced or suspended amount, and any fees.
- Ask directly: “What happens to the missed amount when the plan ends, and which options will I be reviewed for?”
- Keep paying whatever the plan requires. A reduced payment still has to be made on time.
Another mistake is treating the plan’s expiration date as a distant event. Servicers often need updated information before a plan ends, and a gap can leave you owing a large balance with no agreed path.
What to measure: plan terms in writing and a scheduled review date set before the plan expires. If either is missing, call back and ask for them.
3. Set Up a Repayment Plan for Short-Term Shortfalls
A repayment plan fits a narrower situation than forbearance: you fell behind, but your income is back to normal or close to it. Instead of a lump sum, the servicer adds an extra amount to each regular payment for a set period until the arrears are cleared. It works because it asks for no new loan terms and no new lien. It simply spreads a one-time gap across months you can handle.
Imagine a borrower who missed two payments during a layoff and has since started a new job. He is behind by about $3,400 in total. Over twelve months, that is roughly $283 added to each payment. Over six months it is about $567. The right number depends on his budget, not on what looks fastest on paper.
Here is how to set one up:
- Request the exact reinstatement figure, including late fees, escrow shortages, and any other charges.
- Build a bare-bones monthly budget and identify the extra amount you can pay every single month, including months with surprises.
- Propose that amount and a timeline. Servicers typically have limits on how long a plan can run, so ask what is permitted.
- Confirm the schedule, including each due date and total amount, in writing before the first payment.
The classic mistake is agreeing to a catch-up amount the budget cannot sustain. A borrower eager to look cooperative accepts a six-month plan, misses the third month, and ends up worse off than before. It is better to ask for twelve months and pay on time than to accept six and fail. If no affordable catch-up amount exists, that is a signal to move to a different strategy, such as a partial claim, not to push harder on this one.
Keep in mind that your escrow account for taxes and insurance still has to be funded. If property taxes or homeowners insurance rose, your regular payment may already be higher than you remember, and the repayment amount sits on top of that.
What to measure: the full payment, regular amount plus catch-up, made on time every month until the servicer confirms the loan is current. Check your statement after each payment to see the arrears shrinking.
4. Use the FHA Partial Claim
A partial claim is an FHA loss mitigation option in which the servicer advances funds to bring a delinquent loan current, and that amount becomes a separate, interest-free subordinate lien on your home. Your original loan stays in place. The regular monthly payment resumes, and the partial claim amount generally comes due when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage, or when the loan matures. Working through your servicer, you are asking FHA’s insurance program to cover the arrears, and the lien is how that money is repaid.
A typical illustration: a borrower completes a forbearance plan, and the missed payments total several thousand dollars. Rather than facing a lump-sum demand, the servicer rolls that amount into a partial claim. The loan shows current, and the borrower goes back to the normal monthly payment, with no extra catch-up added each month. The trade-off is that a second lien now exists.
To pursue it:
- Ask your servicer whether you qualify. Eligibility rules, limits on the amount, and any required steps are set by HUD and have been updated in recent years, so ask for the current criteria and check the latest Mortgagee Letters at hud.gov.
- Request the lien terms in writing: the amount, that it is interest-free, and what events trigger repayment.
- Confirm that your regular monthly payment going forward is one you can pay. A partial claim fixes the arrears, not an ongoing shortfall.
- Keep the signed documents and the recorded lien information in your files.
The mistake to avoid is forgetting the second lien exists. Years later, a borrower who lists the house or applies for a refinance may be surprised that the payoff includes the partial claim. If you may sell or refinance within a few years, factor the lien into your expected equity and ask Duane Buziak how it would affect an FHA purchase or refinance down the road.
Note also that a partial claim does not lower your payment. If your income has dropped permanently, the monthly amount may still be too high, and a modification may be the better fit.
What to measure: your loan status reads current and the lien amount is documented in writing, with the repayment triggers spelled out.
5. Ask for an FHA Loan Modification
A loan modification permanently changes the terms of your mortgage to lower the payment. Servicers can do this by extending the term, adjusting the rate, or capitalizing arrears into the balance, within HUD’s rules. It works when the hardship is long term, such as permanently reduced income or a lasting increase in expenses, because it resets the payment to a level your new reality can carry.
Testing the new payment against a full budget
The principal and interest figure is only part of what you owe each month. Here is an illustration, not a quote. Suppose a Henrico County homeowner has a home assessed at $300,000, and the loan balance is $240,000. The county rate is $0.85 per $100 of assessed value (verify the current rate at henrico.us, as of October 2026), so annual property tax is $2,550, or $212.50 a month. Assume a modification extends the term and brings principal and interest to $1,250 a month, down from $1,450.
- Principal and interest after modification: $1,250.00
- Property tax at $0.85 per $100: $212.50
- Homeowners insurance (assumed for this example): $130.00
- Annual MIP, assuming a 0.55% tier on roughly $240,000: about $110.00
The total is about $1,702.50 a month. That is the number to test against your budget, not $1,250. On MIP: FHA charges an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount and an annual premium that depends on loan amount, term, and loan-to-value tier, so your actual rate may differ. Confirm the schedule at hud.gov and on your statement.
To put this into practice:
- Submit the servicer’s complete application, with all income and hardship documents.
- If a trial payment period is required, make every payment on time. Missing one can end the review.
- Ask for the final terms in writing, including the new rate, term, and any amount added to the balance.
- Compare the new total housing payment with your income after other fixed obligations.
The common mistake is judging the result on principal and interest alone and ignoring taxes, insurance, and MIP. A payment that looks manageable can still be too heavy once escrow is added.
What to measure: after the trial period, the new total housing payment sits inside the budget you built, with room left for emergencies.
6. Get Free HUD-Approved Housing Counseling
HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide independent guidance at no charge or very low cost. Counselors are not your servicer and have no stake in which option you choose. That independence is the mechanism: they can read your servicer’s offer, explain what it means, help you assemble documents, and flag options you were never told about. They can also explain last-resort exits, such as a pre-foreclosure sale or deed in lieu, so that if the earlier strategies do not work, you have already seen the alternatives.
Here is an illustration. A borrower receives a modification offer but is unsure whether it beats selling. A counselor helps him organize income records, build a budget, and compare the modification’s new payment with what a pre-foreclosure sale would leave him. He leaves with a clear choice instead of a pile of letters.
To use this well:
- Find an agency through HUD’s counselor search, and confirm the agency is approved before booking.
- Bring your last mortgage statements, all servicer letters, proof of income, and your hardship documents.
- Ask the counselor to review any offer you have received and explain deadlines.
- Leave with a written action plan.
The costliest mistake in this area is paying an upfront fee to a company that promises to stop foreclosure. Legitimate help with your servicer does not require paying in advance, and the consumer protection agency consumerfinance.gov warns about mortgage relief scams. Be wary of anyone who tells you to stop talking to your servicer or to send payments to them instead.
What to measure: a written action plan with a deadline for each servicer request, and a named person responsible for each task, even if that person is you.
The Order of Action, and Where Duane Buziak Fits
Start with the call to your servicer, before the payment is late if you can. If the hardship is temporary, request forbearance and plan the exit before it begins. If the plan ends and you are back on your feet, a repayment plan or a partial claim can close the gap. If the hardship is lasting, pursue a modification, and test it against your full housing cost. Bring in a HUD-approved counselor early, since that help is free and works alongside every other step.
One point of clarity: Duane Buziak is a mortgage broker, not your servicer. Servicing relief comes from your servicer, and he cannot approve or change it. His role is FHA education and guidance on FHA purchase and refinance, including what these options could mean for a later move or refinance.
Schedule your free consultation today with FHA Mortgages by Duane Buziak to take the first step toward homeownership with an FHA loan tailored to your needs. You get access to 500+ wholesale lenders, a NoTouch Credit Pull (a soft pull, with no hard inquiry), a Dare to Compare pricing challenge, and no-out-of-pocket closing options, along with competitive rates and expert guidance. Call 804-212-8663 or visit 4860 Cox Rd, Glen Allen, VA 23060. Licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, and DC.
