What happens next depends on whether you are trying to stay in your home or are resigned to moving on. (More about that choice later.) 


If you want to keep your home. Your first move is to find a HUD-approved housing counselor. These folks are there to help you stay in your home and won’t charge you a penny for their help. Go to www.makinghomeaffordable.gov and click “Find a Counselor” or call 888-995-HOPE and ask for a HUD-approved counselor in your area. 


Most likely, your HUD-approved housing counselor will help you write a letter to your mortgage servicer. The letter will explain why you can’t make your mortgage payment and give information the servicer will need to determine your eligibility for help under the refinancing or mortgage payment modification programs. This letter will trigger action by your mortgage servicer, which will assess your eligibility for a “home affordable refinance” or a “home affordable modification” under the Making Home Affordable program. Or possibly you can qualify for a refinance under the Hope for Homeowners Act, which is especially designed for homeowners who are seriously underwater. See Ch. 4 and www.makinghomeaffordable.gov for eligibility details. 


If a modification or refinance is not in the cards, and depend­ing on the procedure required by your state, you’ll receive some sort of notice (usually a formal written notice) that fore­closure is coming unless you make things right. Fore­closure proce­dures differ greatly depending on where you live and the nature of the loan. (Ch. 2 explains these procedures and highlights the variables you’ll want to know about when planning your strategy.)


Unless you use one of the remedies explained briefly below (and in detail in later chapters), the foreclosure will end, after a few months, with the sale of the property, typically at a public auction. The foreclosure process is explained in detail in Ch. 2.