 TITLE: How Do I Get a Mortgage Forbearance? CONTENT: What Is Mortgage Forbearance?\n-----------------------------\nMortgage forbearance is a temporary change in payment terms negotiated with your mortgage lender. Depending on the terms of the forbearance agreement, your monthly payments may be reduced or even suspended altogether for a period of time, typically no more than 12 months.\nMortgage forbearance doesn't permanently alter your mortgage, and its terms provide for eventual repayment of the funds you're excused from paying during the forbearance period. Repayment is typically handled in one of three ways:\n*   **Reinstatement**, in which you pay a lump sum at the end of the forbearance period, covering the full amount by which your payments were reduced plus interest and possible fees, before resuming your original payment terms.\n*   A **repayment plan**, which divides the total amount you were excused from paying (plus interest and possible fees) into installments and adds them to your regular monthly mortgage payments. The number of repayment installments is negotiable and will depend in part on your ability to make payments. As with any loan, however, stretching out the number of installments reduces the amount of each installment, but adds to the total amount of interest you'll pay.\n*   **Mortgage modification**, which restructures the terms of your loan permanently to reduce your monthly payments and make it easier for you to keep your account current. In a modification, any amount you were excused from paying during a forbearance period is added back into the total you owe and factored into the new payment structure. Mortgage modification can extend the repayment period on your mortgage by a number of months and add significantly to the total amount you'll pay over the remainder of the loan.\nWhen your lender structures a forbearance agreement for you, it also agrees not to foreclose on your home during the forbearance period, as it could if you made incomplete payments without a forbearance agreement. END