Forbearance
Pause or reduce your payment for a set period while you stabilize. Best for short, definable hardships.
Best for
- ✓Hardship is temporary and you can name an end date (return-to-work, surgery recovery, insurance settlement)
- ✓You need 3–12 months, not 3 years
- ✓You can either lump-sum repay, add to the loan tail, or modify after
Watch-outs
- !Skipped payments don't disappear — they have to be repaid via lump sum, repayment plan, deferral, or modification
- !Forbearance can show on credit reports as 'paying as agreed under forbearance' — most lenders honor it, some flag it
- !FHA, VA, and conventional rules differ sharply on what comes after
Arizona-specific note
Forbearance pauses the foreclosure clock; it does not erase missed payments. In Arizona, if a Notice of Trustee's Sale was already recorded, forbearance approval typically triggers a postponement — but you must confirm the postponement is recorded, not just promised.
Forbearance was the headline COVID-era tool. It still exists, but it's narrower now. The right framing: forbearance buys you a defined runway during a defined hardship — it's not a long-term fix.
What a forbearance looks like in 2026
- 3–6 months at $0 or reduced payment, with an option to extend
- Repayment options at the end: lump sum, 6–12 month repayment plan, deferral (added to loan tail), or roll into a modification
The exit plan matters more than the entry
The biggest reason forbearance fails is no exit plan. Don't sign the entry without understanding what month 7 looks like. If the answer is "I'll figure it out then," you're setting up for a second crisis.