Considerations

• Since the process of foreclosure costs lenders attorney fees, real estate agent fees, property taxes and insurance, they usually outline in the mortgage contract what options the homeowner can take to become current on his mortgage instead of immediately initiating foreclosure proceedings. Lenders usually calculate an overdue payment by adding a set fee for lateness, overdue interest charges on the payment and the original amount of the owed payment. They may forgive penalties on overdue payments due to extenuating circumstances.
  
  

Warning

• No federal law exists which prevents U.S. lenders from foreclosing on a home if a homeowner makes a single payment even one day late. A lender can send a notice of default to the homeowner requiring that he pay the entire sum of the mortgage balance within a certain time frame. In this case, the homeowner would owe prepayment penalties if outlined by the mortgage contract, late fees, the entire remaining principal of the loan and interest for every day late that he doesn’t pay the amount due.
  
  

Repayment

• A struggling homeowner may have difficulty making an additional payment on top of a past due payment. Lenders may calculate an overdue payment by rolling the fees, interest and principle onto the homeowner’s payments over the next few months until he becomes current on the mortgage, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The homeowner will only owe late payment penalties on his mortgage for the months he missed before working out a repayment plan, and the lender will add accrued interest to his payments until he becomes current on them.
  
  

Forbearance

• In cases where a homeowner has past due mortgage payments due to temporary illness, a death in the family or unemployment, lenders may give him a several month reprieve from making mortgage payments until he recovers, according to Bank of America. Lenders will not add penalty charges to past due mortgage payments while the homeowner recovers. The homeowner will then repay the past due payments by paying extra on his mortgage note every month or a lump sum when the forbearance period ends.