What to Do When You Can’t Pay Your Mortgage
When times are tough, many families are faced with having to make tough decisions when it comes to paying their bills. The choice can often be putting gas in the car to get to work or making the mortgage payment. While falling behind in your bills is not a good thing, it can be the wiser decision when faced with having to make this tough choice. It can be a matter of survival and having a good score is not going to help when you have no income.
The scenario is unfortunately common: people have lost their jobs or are suffering as a result of the recession. They’ve exhausted their options, have done everything possible to get a higher paying job in an incredibly competitive job market, and they’re not sure what to do next. The question may be, should you tap into your retirement accounts to pay the bills, or is it better to get behind in payments and ruin your credit.
According to Jack Guttentag, there is no right answer, but often times it’s a matter of missing your payments this money and facing the inevitable, or missing your payments next month. The question may also be a moral dilemma since, as a borrower, you are obligated to make the payments. But if you can miss your payments this month and keep your money to help you get out of a rut, that may be the better long-term strategy.
Of course there are implications to doing this, since it can hurt your credit score if your lender decides to report your late payments to the credit bureaus. However, by delaying your payments you could be buying yourself time to find a higher paying job.
Another alternative for those who are facing financial hardship and don’t have enough money to make their payments, is to see if you qualify for a loan modification. This is the process of re-negotiating your existing mortgage with your bank in order to make your payments more manageable. If accepted, it is important to consider the tax implications that can come with a home loan mortgage modification, and is something you should discuss with a certified financial advisor.
In: Personal Finance · Tagged with: credit card debt, help with bills, help with mortgage