Sample Hardship Letters by Situation: Job Loss, Medical, Divorce, Death and Furlough

The servicer’s packet says to include a hardship letter. The sample you found online was written for someone else’s problem, and yours doesn’t fit it.

A hardship letter is short and factual. It says what happened, when, what it did to your income, where things stand now and what you’re asking for. Below are samples for the five situations I see most, each with the documents that should go with it.

What does every hardship letter need?

The details change. These pieces don’t.

• Your identifiers. Your name, the property address and the loan number at the top, then your signature and the date at the bottom.
• The event and the date. One or two sentences on what happened and when it started.
• The effect on your income. Your monthly income before and after, in round numbers that match your application.
• Where things stand now. Whether the hardship is over, ongoing or expected to end on a certain date.
• Your request. What you’re asking for and whether you want to keep the home.

If you want the reasoning behind each paragraph, I walk through it in how to write a financial hardship letter. The samples below are the body only. Add your identifiers and signature to each.

What if I lost my job or my hours were cut?

Say whether you have new income yet, because that decides what the servicer can offer.

I am writing to ask for help with my mortgage. On [date], [employer] [laid me off / cut my hours from [number] to [number] a week]. My household income dropped from about [amount] to about [amount] a month, and I fell behind starting with the [month] payment.

[I started a new job at [employer] on [date] and now earn about [amount] a month. / I am receiving unemployment benefits and looking for work.] I want to keep my home, and I am asking to be considered for [a loan modification / a forbearance / any option available on my loan]. My application and supporting documents are enclosed.

Attach: your layoff or reduced-hours notice if you have one, plus your most recent pay stub from any new job. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac application, Form 710, doesn’t require proof of unemployment itself, but the notice answers the question before anyone asks it.

What if a medical problem caused the hardship?

You don’t need to describe the diagnosis. The servicer needs the dates, the effect on your income and whether you can work now.

I am writing to ask for help with my mortgage. In [month], I [became seriously ill / was injured / was hospitalized], and I was out of work from [date] to [date]. During that time my income fell to about [amount] a month, and [medical bills of about [amount]] used the money I would have paid toward the mortgage.

[I returned to work on [date] at my full pay. / I am still on leave and expect to return on [date]. / I will not be able to return to my prior work, and my income is now [amount] a month from [source].] I want to keep my home, and I am asking to be considered for [option].

Attach: a short statement or leave approval confirming the dates. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac form accepts your own written statement or other proof of the illness and says it does not require detailed medical information, so don’t send your records.

What if I’m divorced or separated?

The servicer’s questions are who kept the house, who pays the mortgage now and whether one income can carry it. Answer all three.

I am writing to ask for help with my mortgage. [My former spouse / My co-borrower], [name], and I [divorced / separated] in [month], and [he / she] moved out of the home on [date]. Before the separation, the household income was about [amount] a month. My income alone is about [amount] a month.

Under the [divorce decree / separation agreement], I kept the house and am responsible for the mortgage. I want to stay in the home, and I am asking to be considered for [option]. [The divorce is pending in [court], and I expect a final order by [month].]

Attach: the final divorce decree or final separation agreement, or a recorded quitclaim deed from the person who left. If nothing is final yet, say so and send the final papers when you have them.

What if my co-borrower died?

The servicer needs the date, the income that stopped and what the household lives on now.

I am writing to ask for help with the mortgage on my home. My [husband / wife / co-borrower], [name], died on [date]. [He / she] earned about [amount] a month, and since then the household income has been about [amount] a month from [my job / survivor benefits / both].

I fell behind beginning with the [month] payment while I handled [his / her] funeral and estate. I intend to keep the home, and I am asking to be considered for [option].

Attach: a death certificate or an obituary, plus proof of your current income, such as a survivor benefits award letter.

If you weren’t on the loan. If you inherited the house but never signed the mortgage, ask the servicer to confirm you as a successor in interest, meaning the person who now owns the property. Once the servicer confirms you, federal mortgage servicing rules treat you as a borrower for loss mitigation.

What if the hardship is temporary, like a federal furlough?

A temporary hardship calls for temporary help. Say when it started, when it should end and that you can pay normally after that.

I am writing to ask for temporary help with my mortgage. I work for [agency], and I was furloughed without pay beginning [date] [because of the government shutdown]. I expect to return to work and my regular pay [when the shutdown ends / on [date]].

[Before the furlough, I made every payment on time.] I am asking for [a forbearance / a reduced payment] until I return to work. I expect to resume my regular payment after that.

Attach: your furlough notice and your last full pay stub. When you go back to work, send the servicer your first new pay stub without waiting to be asked.

A forbearance means the servicer lets you pay less or nothing for a set period, and the skipped payments still have to be repaid. If you’re not sure whether to ask for that or a modification, see forbearance vs loan modification. If you’re a federal worker facing more than a short furlough, my post on federal job loss and debt covers the rest.

Do I still need a letter if the form has a hardship box?

Often, yes. The current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac application has a hardship section with checkboxes, and for a hardship that doesn’t fit a box, it asks for a written explanation.

Many servicers ask for a letter anyway. Send one unless the servicer tells you in writing it doesn’t want it.

What should I leave out?

Leave out anything you can’t back up with a document. If the letter says your income dropped by half and your pay stubs say otherwise, the file stalls.

Leave out blame, long apologies and pleading. The underwriter is looking for facts, numbers and a request.

Don’t say you’re ready to give up the house unless you are. The servicer may take you at your word and steer you toward a short sale or deed in lieu.

What should I do right now?

If you’re early in the process, pick the sample closest to your situation, fill in the brackets and send it with your complete application. If a sale date is already set, or the servicer keeps calling your file incomplete, call me at (202) 448-5136. If you already have a lawyer in a filed foreclosure case, call that lawyer.

The consultation is free. I’ll look at your letter, your application and where the foreclosure stands in DC, Maryland or Virginia.

Don’t wait. The letter only helps if it reaches the servicer in time.