 TITLE: How Do I Get a Mortgage Forbearance? CONTENT: How Does Mortgage Forbearance Affect Your Credit?\n-------------------------------------------------\nUnder normal circumstances, payments that are skipped or only partially paid during a mortgage forbearance period technically violate the original terms of your mortgage loan agreement, so even though your lender agrees to the forbearance plan, they may report your payments as delinquent to the national credit bureaus. They are not obligated to report the payments as delinquent, however, and not all lenders do. If they do, payments marked as delinquent will appear on your credit report, and your credit scores will likely suffer as a result.\nHowever, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act offers relief to borrowers who are seeking forbearance due to the coronavirus crisis but are worried about the impact to their credit: Mortgage accounts in forbearance as a result of COVID-19 cannot be reported negatively to the credit bureaus by lenders.\nTypically, lenders may or may not report your account as being in forbearance during the forbearance period. If they do report it, a note will appear on your credit report indicating as much, and some credit scoring models may also dock your credit score during the forbearance period and for some period of time afterward. For those requesting forbearance due to the coronavirus, however, the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) have enacted a crisis response plan that enables lenders to report accounts as in forbearance as a result of a natural or declared disaster.\nAvoiding foreclosure—in addition to preventing the upheaval it can cause in your life—will also help keep your credit in good standing. Foreclosures have a negative impact on your credit. END