 TITLE: Can You Get Mortgage Forbearance More Than Once? CONTENT: Prepare Your Finances for the End of Relief Measures\n----------------------------------------------------\nMortgage forbearance and foreclosure moratoriums won't be extended forever. If they've bought you some breathing room in the face of pandemic-related income reductions, now is a good time to plan for their inevitable expiration.\n### Forbearance Repayment Options\nIf you're in mortgage forbearance, it's important to work with your mortgage servicer to figure out how you will repay the sum you were permitted to forgo paying during your forbearance period. Options include the following:\n*   **Repayment plan:** Under this option, your regular mortgage payments are increased temporarily (typically for no more than 12 months) until you repay the amount left unpaid during your forbearance period.\n*   **Payment deferral:** With this arrangement, the sum you owe (and interest charges that apply to it) are added to the end of your mortgage term. You must pay it in full as the final payment on your mortgage or pay it off when you sell the house, whichever comes first.\n*   **Loan modification:** In a mortgage modification, your loan servicer issues you a new loan for the sum of the amount you owe from forbearance and your outstanding mortgage balance, lowering your monthly payments (and typically increasing your total interest costs) by extending the payback period by several months or years.\n*   **Lump sum:** At the conclusion of your forbearance period, you must repay all the money you were spared paying during forbearance, in one single payment.\n### Foreclosure Alternatives\nIf you're behind on mortgage payments and concerned that foreclosure could begin as soon as applicable moratorium(s) expire, connect with your mortgage lender or servicer as soon as possible to try to work out alternatives to foreclosure:\n*   **Sell the house.** Housing markets are highly competitive in many parts of the country right now, so it may be possible to sell your home and use the proceeds to pay off the remainder of your mortgage (including the back payments you owe).\n*   **Pursue a short sale.** If your home's market value is less than what you owe on your mortgage, your best option for getting out from under it may be a short sale. Under this arrangement, which requires permission from your mortgage lender, you can sell the house at market value and turn all of the proceeds over to the lender. Depending on how the deal is negotiated, the lender may forgive the amount you still owe on the original mortgage, or arrange for you to pay back some or all of that remainder over time.\nYour credit report will reflect a short sale by listing your mortgage account as settled for less than the full amount owed, which can have negative consequences for your credit scores. END