By Caroline Cain, founder of The Homes Hero. Army veteran. Just an average American who is tired of watching big banks take advantage of regular families. My parents almost lost our home. I have been the person sitting in the parking lot doing the math. Since then, my team and I have helped hundreds of families across the United States avoid foreclosure, and I built this company for one reason: to make sure what almost happened to my family does not happen to yours.
Quick answer
If you have 5 minutes, do these 5 things, in this order:
- Take 60 seconds and breathe. You are not in trouble yet. You are in the moment where you make a plan.
- File for unemployment, today. Not Monday. Today. The clock starts when you file, not when you got laid off.
- Call your mortgage servicer and ask for the loss mitigation department. Tell them the truth. Get something in writing.
- Cut every bill you can cut this week. Subscriptions, dining, anything not nailed down.
- Make a 90 day plan, not a forever plan. You only need to bridge the gap to the next income.
If your hands are shaking and you do not want to do any of this alone, call us. (844) 991-4359. We will sit on the phone with you and walk through every single one. The consultation is always free.
First, take a breath.
You probably googled this at midnight. Or in the parking lot after the meeting. Or sitting in your car before you go inside and tell your family. We know this feeling. We talk to people in this exact moment every single week.
Here is the first thing nobody tells you. The day you lose your job is not the day you lose your house. There are months between those two things. Months full of options. Months where you have more leverage than you think. The trick is to use the early days right, because the early days are when the bank is the most willing to work with you and the resources are the easiest to stack.
You are not behind. You are not late. You are not in trouble. You are in the moment where the plan starts.
Quick note from Caroline.
Hi, I am Caroline.
I want to tell you something I do not say in most articles. The reason I do this work is because I watched my own family almost lose our home. I know what it feels like to be the person in the parking lot. I know what the silence in the car feels like. I know how loud your own thoughts get.
If you take nothing else from this, take this: the people who get through this are not the smartest, the richest, or the luckiest. They are just the people who picked up the phone in the first week instead of the third month. That is it. That is the whole secret. Early action beats late panic every single time.
Read the steps below. Then call us if you want a real human in your corner. (844) 991-4359. Always free.
The first 24 hours
Step 1. File for unemployment. Right now.
Unemployment insurance is yours. You paid for it through years of payroll taxes. It is not charity. It is not welfare. It is the safety net you already bought.
Google “[your state] unemployment file claim” and do it today. Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Today. Most states start your benefits the day you file, not the day you got laid off, so every day you wait is a day of money you will never see again.
While you are at it, check whether your state has any of these: – Extended benefits or pandemic-era programs (some states still have them) – Mass layoff assistance if your whole company let people go – Job placement assistance through the state workforce agency – Training stipends if you want to retool for a new field
Most states bundle all of this together when you file the unemployment claim. Click every box. Apply for everything you might qualify for. They do not ask twice.
Step 2. Call your mortgage servicer.
We know. This is the call you do not want to make. We are going to do it anyway, together if you want. (844) 991-4359, just say “I need help calling my servicer,” and we will sit on the line with you. No cost.
If you are doing it solo, here is the script. Word for word.
“Hi. My name is [your name], my loan number is [number]. I am current right now (or X days late). I just lost my job. I want to talk to the loss mitigation department about my hardship options before I miss a payment (or before I get any further behind). Can you transfer me?”
When you get to loss mitigation:
“I want to understand all my options. Forbearance, repayment plans, loan modifications, partial claims if I have an FHA loan. What do I qualify for, and what documents do you need from me?”
That is the call. That is all of it. Take notes. Get the rep’s name. Get a reference number. Ask them to email or mail you everything in writing.
One rule: Never agree to anything on the first call. Get the offer in writing first. Read it. Sleep on it. Then say yes or no.
Step 3. List every bill you have. All of them.
Open your bank app. Open your credit card statements. Write down every recurring charge. Every single one. Yes, the streaming service you forgot about. Yes, the gym you stopped going to. Yes, the app subscription that auto-renewed last month.
Sort them into three columns:
Cannot cut: Mortgage, utilities, food, insurance, transportation to job hunt.
Can reduce: Phone plan, internet, groceries, car insurance. Call each provider and ask for a hardship rate or a cheaper plan.
Cancel today: Streaming, gyms, subscriptions, dining out, anything optional. Every dollar you stop sending out is a dollar that protects the house.
The “cancel today” column is the win. Every dollar you stop sending out is a dollar that protects the house. It also means you can tell the bank “here is my reduced budget, here is what I can afford” with real numbers. Banks love real numbers. Vague numbers get vague offers.
Step 4. Stack the resources. All of them.
You qualify for more help than you think. Apply for everything. The worst they can say is no.
State Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). Pays your missed mortgage directly to your servicer. Search “[your state] Homeowner Assistance Fund” to find your program.
HUD-approved housing counselor. Free expert help. They will negotiate with your bank for you. Call 800-569-4287.
SNAP (food stamps). Frees up cash for the mortgage by covering groceries. Apply at benefits.gov.
LIHEAP. Covers heat and electric bills. Apply at energyhelp.us.
211. Local emergency help, food banks, rent and mortgage relief. Dial 2-1-1 from any phone.
Medicaid and CHIP. Health insurance during the gap between jobs. Apply at healthcare.gov.
COBRA alternatives. Keep health coverage without paying full COBRA prices. You qualify for a Marketplace special enrollment because you lost your job.
The HAF program is the one most people miss. It is real federal money sitting in your state’s program right now, and in many states it can pay your missed mortgage payments directly to the servicer. It is not a loan. It is not charity. It is a benefit you already qualified for as a US homeowner. Apply this week.
Step 5. Find bridge income. Anything.
You need a job before you get the real job. A small check this week is more valuable than a perfect check three months from now. Bridge income protects the house, the credit, and the family budget while you run the longer search.
The fastest places to start:
- Gig apps. DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Amazon Flex. Sign up today, drive tomorrow.
- Temp agencies. Kelly Services, Robert Half, Aerotek, Adecco. They place fast.
- Your network. Text 10 people today. Not a resume. Just: “Hey, I just got laid off. If you hear of anything, even short term, I am open.” Be specific that you are open to anything.
- Skills you already have. Cleaning, handyman, tutoring, dog walking, driving. None of it is beneath the goal of keeping your family in their home.
We have watched families bridge 4 and 6 month gaps with gig work and come out the other side with their house, their credit, and their pride intact. It is not glamorous. It is possible.
What about my credit?
Here is what most people do not know. If you call your mortgage servicer BEFORE you miss a payment and you get a written hardship plan in place, your credit usually does not take the brutal hit.
If you miss payments without calling, the 30, 60, 90 day lates pile up and your score drops fast. The single biggest credit protection move you can make this week is the phone call to loss mitigation. That call is worth more to your credit score than almost anything else you can do.
What if it gets worse before it gets better?
Sometimes the new job takes longer than you thought. Sometimes the unemployment check is smaller than the bills. Sometimes the bank’s offer is not enough. We know.
If you get to the point where the math just does not work, that is not the end of the road. It is the moment a different question becomes the right question. Instead of “how do I keep this house no matter what,” the question becomes “how do I walk away from this with something instead of nothing.”
We have helped hundreds of families do exactly that. Sell on their own terms before any foreclosure auction, walk away with money in their pocket, no foreclosure on their credit report, and start fresh with their dignity and their next chapter intact.
It is not the answer everybody wants. It is sometimes the answer that actually works. And whichever path is right for your family, we will be honest with you about which one it is. (844) 991-4359.
When to call us
We are people who have been in the same situation before. We understand what it is like to go through this and feel completely overwhelmed by it. We are here to help you find a path forward. Some families we help keep the house. Some families we help sell on their terms and walk away with money instead of a foreclosure on their credit. Either way, the family wins.
What we are NOT: We are not HUD counselors. We are not lawyers. We are just regular people who understand what it feels like to be overwhelmed and get behind, and who decided to build a team that helps other families through it.
If you want a real human in your corner this week, call us. (844) 991-4359. The consultation is always free. No pressure. No pitch. Just an honest conversation about what your real options look like.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have before the bank can foreclose? Federal law blocks the bank from starting foreclosure until you are at least 120 days past due. That means roughly 4 missed payments before they can even file. After that, your state determines how fast the actual sale can happen, anywhere from 90 days to 18 months. In other words, you have months, not days. Use them well.
Will the bank really work with me? Yes, more often than people expect. Foreclosure is expensive for the bank too. They lose money on every foreclosed home. They have entire departments designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure because it is cheaper for them than taking the house. Your job is just to call before you fall too far behind.
What if my spouse still has income? Even better. A working spouse, partial unemployment, or any other income source strengthens your case for a loan modification or forbearance. Bring all of it to the conversation with the bank.
Should I use my retirement to cover the mortgage? Be very careful. Cashing out retirement early triggers taxes and penalties that often make the math much worse than you think. Talk to a HUD counselor or a tax professional before you touch a 401k or IRA. There are usually better options.
Are you lawyers or financial advisors? No. We are a team that has helped hundreds of families walk through moments like this one. Everything in this post is information, not legal or financial advice. For legal advice talk to an attorney. For a HUD-approved housing counselor call 800-569-4287.
Is the consultation really free? Yes. Always. We do not charge homeowners. We never will.
You are going to be okay.
One more time, because it matters. Losing the job is not losing the house. There is space between those two things. Months of space. Use that space well, and the story of this season is going to be very different from the one your fear is writing right now.
Make the calls. Stack the resources. Find the bridge. And if you want a team in your corner, we are right here.
Call (844) 991-4359. The consultation is always free.
About the author
Written by Caroline Cain, founder of The Homes Hero. Caroline served six years in the Army National Guard as a light-wheeled mechanic, which is a fancy way of saying she fixed trucks for a living. She grew up in a family that almost lost their home, which is why she built a company that treats every homeowner the way she wished someone had treated her family back then. She is just an average American who got tired of watching big banks take advantage of regular families and decided to do something about it.
Here is the part most people do not expect. Caroline and her team have helped more families stay in their home than they have ever helped them sell. That is not an accident. That is the whole point. We are a help-first team that helps families sell when selling is the best answer, and fights to keep them in the house when staying is the best answer. We are not a wholesaler that occasionally helps people stay. The order matters.
Together, Caroline and her team have walked hundreds of families across the United States through foreclosure, hardship, job loss, medical bills, probate, and every other reason a good family can end up in a scary season. Sometimes that means negotiating with the bank so they can stay. Sometimes that means selling fast on their terms so they walk away with money in their pocket instead of a foreclosure on their credit. Either way, the family wins.
This is not legal or financial advice. It is what we have learned from actually sitting across the table from families in crisis. If you are in one of those moments right now, call us at (844) 991-4359. The consultation is always free.