A hardship letter is a very important piece of communication that you may need to write if you are in financial difficulty and want to have your loan modified. It is very important that you write the letter in an accurate and polite manner, which may be enough to convince your mortgage provider that you are worthy of a chance to keep your home. It is normal to feel intimidated because you have to tell an institution some personal things and you are not guaranteed that your request will be accepted. However, not writing the letter may mean that your property will be foreclosed upon.
Consider the Various Options that You Have
The first thing you have to do is consider every other option. This is firstly because those options are often easier to be accepted for than a loan modification and, secondly, because your lender will want to see that you have already been proactive in resolving the situation. If there really is no other option out there, you must contact your lender and inquire as to whom to address the hardship letter to and what the letter should include. It is possible, for instance, that they have forms that you have to fill in. Mortgage companies change hands quite often as well, which is another reason why you must call them first: the company you took your loan out with may not be the one that still holds your mortgage today.
Estimate How Much You Are Able to Pay at the Present Time
You should then calculate exactly what you can afford in regards to payments. What you should never do is write a letter that leaves any questions unanswered. Rather, you have to explain that you are in difficulty, why you are in such a situation, and what it means. You should then state which payments you have already missed (if any) and you believe you will still miss (if any), and why. You should then explain how you intend to pay for those missed or late payments later on and when.
Explain the Facts of Your Current Situation
Finally, you need to provide the facts as to why you are in your current situation. That this is factual is perhaps of the greatest importance. They do not want to know how hard it is on you emotionally, as that is already a given. Rather, they want to know what happened, why it happened, how long you expect it to last, and how you aim to fix it.
For example, if you were hospitalized and this caused you to miss several days of work, as well as having substantial medical bills, indicate that. You must also state when you intend to return to work, and when your income will return to normal. You have to explain, at that point, how you intend to get back to making your regular payments, and also how you aim to pay for the shortfall once you are back on track. You must show yourself as being apologetic, proactive, and willing to come to some sort of arrangement. While all of that will not guarantee that your lender will agree, such things will usually make it more likely.
Hardship Letter To Mortgage Company Example
{Your Name}
{Your Address}
{Your Phone #}
{Your Loan #}
{Date}
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to explain the reasons why I have {or will soon become} delinquent on my mortgage payments, and to request that we work together to avoid foreclosure on my home.
My income has become drastically reduced recently, due to {sickness, death in the family, job loss, etc. BE SPECIFIC}. The money I have remaining every month must go to {food, car payment, medication, etc.}. I have done everything in my power to keep up with the payments, but it unfortunately has become impossible {or will become impossible as of a certain date}.
I believe I can resolve my debt by {explanation of how you intend to pay them back OR a request that they provide a “workout” solution for your loan}.
Please understand that I know I signed a contract and that I am responsible for these payments. I am not attempting to shirk my responsibilities, but there is also only so much I can do when I still need to keep food on my table.
It is my intention to stay in my home, so I hope we can work out a solution as quickly as possible.
Thank you,
{Sender Name}