Forbearance

Forbearance is a temporary agreement that lets a struggling borrower pause or reduce mortgage payments during a hardship.

What Forbearance means

It doesn't erase the debt; missed payments must be repaid later through a lump sum, repayment plan, deferral, or modification. Forbearance buys time without immediately damaging credit when arranged with the servicer.

Florida example

A Florida homeowner who loses income after a hurricane requests three months of forbearance. The servicer adds the skipped payments to the end of the loan, letting the family recover without facing foreclosure.

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