A hardship letter is the most common way to let your lender know you are having trouble keeping up with your payments. It is also the first step in asking for assistance from your lender. A hardship letter is a detailed accounting of exactly how you fell behind on your payments and what the current state of your financial picture is. There are varieties of reasons that homeowners fall behind on their mortgage, including skyrocketing medical bills, a reduction of income due to job loss or reduced hours, divorce, etc.

The purpose of the hardship letter is to make your lender aware of what is going on and ask for some assistance or leniency until you can better your situation. The letter below is just one example of what you might want to say. However, it is important to remember that you should keep your explanation short, concise and detailed to fit your particular circumstances.

To Whom It May Concern,

It is unfortunate that I must communicate to you that I am no longer able to make the monthly payments on this account.

[Notate the circumstances behind your hardship in one paragraph. Be specific, but concise. Give some details, but not too many. Don’t include personal anecdotes, but still try to stress how this has affected your financial portfolio.]

I would like to ask for assistance through any resources you may have available for customers in my situation. Either through modifications of my loan and/or credit terms or any other program, anything you can do to assist me is greatly appreciated. I would like to get this account back on track. If you are able to renegotiate my terms, I can then resume my monthly payment and satisfy the conditions of my financial obligation to your company.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,