Missing a mortgage payment feels like an emergency, but what happens next follows a script — and knowing the script tells you exactly how much time you have and what to do with it.
Days 1–15: The grace period
Most payments are due on the 1st and considered on time until the 15th or so. Pay within the grace period and nothing is reported late. This is the cheapest problem you will ever fix — if you can pay, pay now.
Day 16–30: Late fee, still private
A late fee (commonly 4–5% of the payment) applies. The servicer starts calling. A payment 30+ days late can be reported to the credit bureaus and will cost real credit-score points.
Days 30–90: Default territory
Your loan is now in default in the practical sense. Expect a breach letter around day 30–45 giving you roughly 30 days to cure. This is the moment to do three things: (1) call the servicer’s loss-mitigation department and ask what options you qualify for; (2) call a free HUD-approved counselor (1-800-569-4287); (3) build a real monthly budget so you know what payment you can actually sustain — every workout depends on that number.
Days 90–120: Serious delinquency
The servicer is preparing to refer the loan to foreclosure counsel. Workout options are still open, and servicers are generally required to reach out about loss mitigation — but paperwork takes weeks, and incomplete applications are the number-one reason workouts fail. Send complete documents, confirm receipt, and log every call.
After 120 days: Foreclosure can be filed
Federal rules generally bar the first filing until you are more than 120 days behind. After that, a Notice of Default (non-judicial states) or a court summons (judicial states) can arrive. It is not too late — reinstatement, modification and short sale all remain possible — but deadlines become hard and options start expiring.
What not to do
- Do not stop communicating. Silence is read as abandonment of the workout process.
- Do not pay “rescue” companies that charge upfront fees — a classic scam, and generally illegal.
- Do not drain retirement accounts or take payday-style loans to catch up without a plan for next month’s payment too.
- Do not assume a verbal promise is real. Get agreements, forbearance terms and deadlines in writing.
The full menu of workouts is in our guide to options to avoid foreclosure. The earlier you start, the more of that menu is available to you.