I have recently run into a situation where a friend lost his job and got behind on his house payments. He felt that he should just wait and see what would happen. This is often what we try to do. Our thinking is that “surely by later this month or at least by next month, I’ll be able to pay my mortgage payment.” That doesn’t always happen.

I talked with a lender friend who explained to me what the best course of action is if this should happen to you.

First Month: When you are about to miss the first payment, call your mortgage company and explain that you are out of work and without funds. They will usually allow you to miss that first payment. What they actually do is just move that payment to the end of the time and you will be paying for one more month than is on your schedule.

Second Month: If you are still without work the next month, try to save up a little of the money from unemployment or such. Call the mortgage company again and explain that things have not improved enough. They will usually ask if you can pay part of the payment. Pay as much as you can on this payment.

If this continues you will need to discuss other options with either you lender or some loan officer. The main message is: Don’t just ignore the problem and hope that it will go away. This will only get you into foreclosure problems.