Can't make your mortgage payment this month?

[MineralMan]

Your bank or loan servicer will probably work with you on that. The Catch-22 is that your local bank has just one person answering the phone with questions about that, and you won't be able to get through to discuss it. Keep trying. Don't give up. Also, check your bank's website for information on how to apply for an extension.

[Roland99]

1. Yeah...and it's not just a skip-a-month thing either, typically

it will require paperwork and a load modification to change the loan terms to a new ending month.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes, probably. The point is to get in touch with your bank

and do something. The worst thing you can do is nothing. There are no automatic programs at all.

Right now, lenders don't want your house. It's likely that home values will go down. They want your mortgage payments to continue on your current balance.

[Roland99]

5. +1

[Wellstone ruled]

6. Chances are the Mortgage is

rolled into a Bond held by someone living in The Middle East or Japan.

[berni_mccoy]

2. Better yet, notify them in writing.

They can't ignore a request to extend or defer payments when issued in writing.

[Liberty Belle]

3. And mail it with proof of delivery and signature required,

so they can't claim they never received it.

Also if your branch is closed, you can go to another branch that is open. Some are making appointments online. We just did that for Mom with Wells Fargo, though not regarding a mortgage but another issue.

[3Hotdogs]

7. It was early autumn, 2008. We had a mortgate balance of $92k and change.

I was scared. The interest rate was only 3+% -- Somewhere around that. We had the money in mutual funds and we were still ahead but the value of the funds was declining. News reports were that the banks were going in the shitter.

I worried that our mortgage holder would go out of business and our mortgage status would be in limbo. I talked my wife into us cashing out of the funds and paying off the mortgage.

We did. And I slept much better that night.

Right now, I still sleep better at nights (and during my afternoon nap).

House is paid off. Car is paid off. I don't owe nobody nuthin'.

SS came in on time and pension was deposited this morning.

We missed the increased value the mutual fund probably would have earned if we kept the $92k in there. But all in all, I think we are better off.