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Does my mortgage servicer have to help me avoid foreclosure?

Many mortgage servicers have to work with you to see if you qualify for ways to avoid foreclosure. Your servicer may refer to this as loss mitigation.

If you’ve missed payments on your mortgage loan, your mortgage servicer generally must:

  • Try to contact you directly within the first 36 calendar days after you become delinquent.
  • Send you a written notice with both a description of examples of loss mitigation options that may be available to help you avoid foreclosure  and also application instructions or information about how to get more information about those options, if applicable. Your servicer has to send this no later than 45 calendar days after you become delinquent on your loan.

Your servicer also must have policies and procedures in place so that they can assign people to be your point of contact within 45 calendar days after you become delinquent on your loan. The people assigned to help you should:

  • Be reachable by phone
  • Respond to your inquiries 
  • Give you accurate information about available loss mitigation options to avoid foreclosure and how to pursue those options, including actions you must take to submit a loss mitigation application
  • Have information about any loss mitigation application you have submitted

If you have a problem with your mortgage, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).