Writing A Hardship Letter Keep House

When you buy a home, you do so with the intention of staying there for a long time. Nobody wants to start a mortgage expecting it to go into foreclosure at some point. However, there are situations beyond your control that may push you towards that. If that has happened to you, and you want to keep your house, one option is to write a hardship letter to your mortgage provider.

Basic Tips in Writing a Hardship Letter to Keep House

This letter is a formal letter that must be written to the right person, in the right department. It is also highly likely that your mortgage lender has a standard form that you must complete. Hence, it is advisable to contact your lender first to ask for this form, and to find out to whom you should write to.

As a formal letter, it should be properly formatted, dated, and free from spelling and grammar mistakes. It should also hold your account number in the subject line, as well as other identifying information so the lender can confirm who you are.

Content of the Hardship Letter

Your letter should make it clear that you want to keep your house. A lot of people who experience hardship are in the process of selling their property and therefore simply want an extension of payments. Others want to request approval of a short sale. It is vital, therefore, that you start your letter by stating that you are experiencing hardship, but that you want to remain in your home.

State how important your property is to you and your family. Give a brief description of your family makeup and how you would be affected if you and your family were forced to leave the property. State that your home is at the heart of your family, educational, social, professional, and spiritual lives. Write that you would like to come up with a loan modification or forbearance plan that will enable you to keep your property.

Explain what has forced you to become delinquent in your payments and make sure that you include documented evidence for that. Examples may include losing your job, the death of a relative, incarceration of the breadwinner, a sudden illness or disability, and other such situations. All of these are situations that are beyond your control, but have caused you significant financial hardship.

Next, you must propose a solution that you believe to be mutually beneficial for you and the lender. Loan modifications of this kind tend to be temporary only. For instance, state how long you will be able to making reduced payments, and in what amount. Also explain how you intend to repay the amount that you will have missed as a result of this modification. Do not make any promises that you cannot keep, however. It is better to only offer $5 a month and pay that, than to offer $500 and not be able to make the payment. After all, your lender is only likely to give you such a chance once.

Hardship Letter Keep House Example

{Your Name}
{Your Address}
{Your Phone #}
{Your Loan #}

{Date}

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you today concerning my mortgage foreclosure. This home is extremely important to me and my family, as it is in the center of our professional, social, educational, and devotional lives. I would like to work out a forbearance plan or loan modification that would allow me to keep the house.

My inability to pay the mortgage on my house has arisen from {specific and detailed situation. Family problems, medical emergencies, death, loss of income/job, etc. Attach documents as necessary to prove financial hardship}.

I would like to propose a temporary loan modification plan. With my savings of {amount} I can make a reduced payment of {amount} from now until {date}, when I shall hopefully {resolution of aforementioned problems}. At that time I would resume paying the previous amount of {amount}. I hope that I have made it clear how necessary my home is to both me and my {members of family}. It is critical to our daily lives in {specific ways} and we cannot afford to lose it at this time.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

{Sender Name}