The servicer may be able to arrange an increase in monthly payments until the loan is brought current. This means that each month your clients would add an additional amount of money (determined by the servicer) to their regular monthly payment until the amount that was overdue has been repaid.

Forbearance is a formal, written agreement between your clients and the mortgage servicer to reduce or suspend monthly payments for a specific period of time. This means that for a period of time, your clients would either pay only a portion of their regular mortgage payment or not make any payments at all. At the end of the agreed-upon period, your clients would be required to resume regular monthly payments as well as pay additional funds to make up for the past due amount. During the time that the payments are either suspended or reduced, your clients would have the opportunity to resolve the financial hardship they are facing.

In situations where the servicer does not believe that a repayment plan or forbearance is the appropriate course of action, a loan modification may be considered. A loan modification involves changing one or more of the terms of a mortgage in order to help your clients bring a defaulted loan current and prevent foreclosure. This option generally is considered for homeowners whose financial problems are expected to be more long term.

A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure takes place when your clients voluntarily give the deed to the property to the servicer. Generally, a deed-in-lieu is considered only after all other alternatives to foreclosure have been explored.