Life has a way of throwing curveballs right when your budget is already stretched thin. A job disappears. A medical bill lands. Inflation keeps chewing through the grocery budget, the utility bill, the gas tank. And then one month, the mortgage payment is just… not there.

You’re not alone in that spot. Mortgage delinquencies are up 30 percent so far in 2026 compared to last year, according to reporting from Family Handyman. That’s a lot of families sitting at kitchen tables trying to figure out what comes next.

Here’s the good news: you have more options than you probably think.

The single most important thing you can do right now is pick up the phone. Call your mortgage servicer before you miss a payment if at all possible. Not after. Not once the late notice arrives. Before. Adam Saab of loanDepot put it plainly: “Mortgage lenders often have programs to help customers who run into financial difficulties, and the earlier you communicate, the more options may be available.”

Waiting is the worst move you can make. Saab said it directly: “Making that call can be uncomfortable, even embarrassing, but waiting usually limits the available options.” That discomfort is real. Nobody wants to tell a stranger their finances are struggling. But the longer you wait, the fewer tools your servicer has to help you.

Quick note for anyone confused: your mortgage servicer may not be the same company that originally gave you the loan. Lenders approve and issue the loan. Servicers manage it month to month. Check your most recent mortgage statement for the right phone number.

Once you’ve made that call, take a hard look at your full financial picture. Write it all down. Income, debts, regular expenses, anything you could sell. This isn’t just busywork. Your servicer will need a clear picture of your situation to figure out which programs you qualify for, and you’ll need that same picture to understand whether you’re dealing with a short-term rough patch or something that needs a bigger fix.

So what are the actual options? There are four main paths, depending on your loan type and circumstances.

Payment plans. If you’ve already missed a payment or two, your servicer may set up a structured plan that lets you pay back what you owe over time, on top of your regular monthly payment. It’s not a free pass, but it spreads the catch-up out so it doesn’t crush you all at once.

Forbearance. This is a temporary pause on payments, usually available when something specific happened, like a job loss or a natural disaster. You’re not off the hook for what you owe. Payments resume at the end of the forbearance period, and you’ll still need to make up the ones you skipped. But it gives you breathing room when you need it most. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has solid plain-language information on how forbearance works.

Deferrals. Rather than adding missed payments back into your monthly bill, deferrals move them to the very end of your loan. You pay them when the loan matures, or when you sell or refinance. It’s a longer-term fix that keeps your regular payment manageable right now.

Loan modifications. This one can actually change the terms of your loan permanently. Your interest rate, your loan length, your monthly payment amount could all shift. It’s a bigger process and typically requires more paperwork and review, but for homeowners facing a long-term change in income, it may be the right answer. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers free housing counseling resources that can help you sort through these options with a professional.

Saab’s advice on all of it: “Early communication and full disclosure of your situation is key to fleshing out the details on the plan that best suits you.”

None of these conversations are easy. Hardship can come from anywhere, a divorce, a serious illness, an accident, rising costs that just don’t stop. The families dealing with this aren’t people who made bad decisions. They’re your neighbors. Maybe they’re you.

The worst thing you can do is go quiet and hope it works itself out. Call early, be honest about your situation, and find out what your servicer can actually do. Most of them want to help. Foreclosure costs everyone, including the lender.

You bought your home for a reason. There’s a path to keeping it.