- Best for
- A hardship that is still going on but should end: job loss, illness, a disaster.
- You keep the home
- Yes, if you have a plan for the missed payments when it ends.
- Watch for
- Assuming the missed payments disappear. They do not.
How forbearance works
Forbearance is an agreement that your servicer will not treat reduced or skipped payments as a reason to foreclose for a set period. It buys time. It does not erase what you owe.
Before the forbearance ends, you and the servicer need to settle how the missed payments will be handled: a lump sum (rarely required and rarely realistic), a repayment plan, a payment deferral or partial claim, or a loan modification.
How long it can last
- FHA loans: payments are reduced or suspended for one to three months at a time, up to 12 months for each default. It is not available once the first legal step to start foreclosure is complete, so ask early.
- Fannie Mae loans: forbearance is granted in blocks of no more than three months, and generally cannot total more than 12 months. No late charges build up during the plan. The home must be your principal residence, except after a disaster.
- Freddie Mac loans: forbearance is one of the options Freddie Mac lists for staying in your home.
- USDA guaranteed loans: a special forbearance agreement can cure a delinquency of up to 12 months of payments.
- USDA direct loans: USDA itself can grant a payment moratorium of up to 2 years if your income dropped at least 20 percent in the past 12 months, or you had unreimbursed costs from illness, injury, death or uninsured property damage. Call the USDA Servicing Center at 1-800-414-1226.
- VA loans: special forbearance is one of the options VA lists.
Questions to ask before you agree
- How many months, and what do I pay each month during the forbearance?
- What options will I be reviewed for when it ends, and when does that review start?
- Will you report the loan as delinquent to the credit bureaus during the forbearance?
- Can I have the terms in writing?
How much time do you have? It depends on your state.
See the foreclosure timeline, deadlines and free local help for the state where the home is.
Common questions
Do I have to repay everything at once when forbearance ends?
That depends on your loan, but the major loan programs each have a way to avoid a lump sum, such as moving the missed payments to the end of the loan or modifying the loan. Ask your servicer which ones your loan allows well before the forbearance ends.
Can a servicer foreclose while I am in forbearance?
Under federal rules, if a servicer offers a short-term forbearance on an incomplete application, it cannot start foreclosure, seek a judgment or hold a sale while you are doing what the forbearance requires.
Other options to compare
- Repayment planYou keep paying your normal mortgage payment and add an extra amount each month until the missed payments are paid back.
- Payment deferral or partial claimThe missed payments are set aside as a balance with no interest and no monthly payment. It comes due when you sell, refinance or pay off the mortgage.
- Loan modificationYour servicer permanently changes the loan, usually by adding the missed payments to the balance and stretching the term or lowering the rate, so the payment is affordable.
- ReinstatementYou pay all the missed payments, late fees and foreclosure costs in one payment. The loan goes back to normal and the foreclosure ends.
- Short saleYou sell the home for less than the mortgage balance and the lender agrees to take the sale price. It avoids a foreclosure sale when keeping the home is not possible.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosureYou sign the home over to the lender and the lender cancels the foreclosure. It is usually considered after a short sale has not worked or is not practical.
Sources
- HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 18 (August 2026), FHA loss mitigation
- Fannie Mae Servicing Guide D2-3.2-01, forbearance plan
- Freddie Mac: Options to stay in your home
- 7 C.F.R. § 3555.303, USDA guaranteed loan servicing options (eCFR)
- 7 C.F.R. § 3550.207, USDA direct loan payment moratorium (eCFR)
- USDA Rural Development: Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans
- VA: Help to avoid foreclosure
- 12 C.F.R. § 1024.41, loss mitigation procedures (eCFR)