Talk to your mortgage company in a Texas foreclosure

Updated September 2026. Educational only — not legal advice.

If you are behind on a Houston-area mortgage — or you know next month will bounce — the useful first call is the number on the statement. The FTC says the same thing: contact the servicer right away, and use a free housing counselor. You are not asking for a favor. You are putting a cheaper file on their desk than a Texas first-Tuesday auction. That still is not a promise they will say yes.

You are calling for you, not for them

Shame is what keeps people from picking up the phone. Silence is what lets a Harris County file roll into a notice of sale. Servicers have to tell you about loss-mitigation options. Calling does not make them post the house faster. Ignoring the mail does.

A rescue company that says “don’t talk to your lender — we’ll handle it” is selling that shame. HUD counseling is free. Start at Who to call.

Their side of the table — without the fairy tale

A completed foreclosure is usually a bad file for the investor who owns the loan. Texas is fast, but it is not free. Trustee fees, posting, an auction that often sells below what the house would bring in a normal listing, then months of an empty house if it does not sell (insurance, lawn, vandalism, unpaid taxes). They would rather have a loan that pays again.

That math is your opening. It is not mercy. It is not “they’re on your side.” Three things still go the other way:

• Equity. If the house would cover the loan at a first-Tuesday sale, they have less reason to cut the payment. A lot of Houston neighborhoods still have equity. Do not assume they are desperate to keep you.
• No documented income. They cannot keep a loan that has no way to pay going forward. A hardship letter with no pay stubs is not a file they can approve.
• The clock. Once a 21-day notice of sale is out, goodwill does not pause first Tuesday. Dates: 2026 first Tuesdays.

The person on the phone is usually the servicer — the company that collects payments. The investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA, or a private holder) sets the boxes. The trustee posts the sale. You cannot haggle a “new loan” with collections. You apply for loss mitigation under those investor rules.

What they need from you

Collections wants money today. Loss mitigation (sometimes “home retention”) is the department that can change the loan. Ask for that. Have the loan number and one true sentence: overtime dried up, the windstorm premium jumped, a job ended, a divorce split the payment.

What “working with you” actually looks like now — not a 2008 HAMP rewrite:

• Repayment plan — spread the missed amount over a set number of months
• Forbearance — a short pause or reduction, with a written plan for how the skipped amount is repaid
• Modification — a lasting change to rate, term, or missed amounts added to the balance. Trial payments often come first. You apply; they decide
• FHA partial claim — some FHA loans can move arrears to a junior, interest-free note
• Late-fee waiver — sometimes part of a workout, not a standalone gift because you asked nicely

There is no current HAMP program. That ended in 2016. A lower rate happens only if the investor’s rules allow it. Many workouts do not cut the rate. They stretch the term or add what you missed to the balance.

The packet is usually the same stack: hardship letter, pay stubs or proof of income, last two bank statements, last year’s tax return, and a signed 4506-C or similar. A file is “complete” only when they say it is. Get that in writing, with the date they received it. Incomplete packets do not freeze a Texas sale.

What to do today

1. Find the phone number on the monthly statement. Ask for loss mitigation, not only “the amount to bring it current.”
2. Say the hardship in one sentence. Ask them to send the official application and to confirm, in writing, what is still missing.
3. Keep paying whatever you can unless you have a written forbearance or trial plan. Stopping on a hope shortens the Texas timeline.
4. Call a HUD-approved counselor the same week — Avenue CDC, Tejano Center, Fifth Ward CRC, or 1-888-995-HOPE. They speak the servicer’s language and do not charge a rescue fee. Numbers: Who to call.
5. If a notice of sale is already in the envelope, write the date and the street on a calendar the same day. Call the trustee for a reinstatement figure. Details: notice of trustee sale.

Homeowners in all 13 counties on this site use the same counselor list. Name the county on the notice. Sale locations: Counties map.

The Texas clock does not wait

Federal rules generally bar the first foreclosure notice on most mortgages until you are more than 120 days behind. After that, Texas Property Code §51.002 is short: at least 20 days to cure after a default notice, then a 21-day notice of sale, then auction on the first Tuesday (or Wednesday if that Tuesday is January 1 or July 4).

A separate federal clock: if you submit a complete loss-mitigation application more than 37 days before a scheduled sale, CFPB Regulation X generally requires the servicer to evaluate it before going to sale on that application. Dual tracking — working a modification and posting the sale at the same time — is how files die when the packet is incomplete. Map of options after you are already behind: how to try to keep the house.

If someone tells you not to call

Hang up. The FTC’s mortgage-assistance rule treats “stop talking to your servicer” as a warning sign, not a strategy. No legitimate HUD counselor charges a large fee up front to “guarantee” a modification. Walkthrough: foreclosure rescue scams in Texas.

This site does not take cases and will not call the bank for you.

Frequently asked questions

Will calling the bank make them start foreclosure faster?

No. Servicers are required to tell you about loss-mitigation options. Silence is what lets the file reach a Texas notice of sale.

Can they just lower my rate if I explain the situation?

Only if the investor’s rules allow it. Many workouts do not cut the rate. They change the term, add arrears to the balance, or set a trial payment. Ask for the official application; do not wait for a verbal “we’ll see.”

I already have a notice of sale. Is it too late to call?

Call the same day. Ask for the reinstatement figure and whether a complete application is already in. A complete packet more than 37 days before the sale generally has to be evaluated first. A packet with ten days left, or a missing tax return, does not stop first Tuesday by itself.

Do I call the lender or the servicer?

The number on the statement is the servicer. That is who takes the application. Look up Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac if you need to know who owns the loan; the counselor can help with that too.

Sources, checked September 2026. FTC: Trouble paying your mortgage · CFPB Regulation X, 12 C.F.R. §1024.41 · Texas Property Code §51.002. This site is not a counseling agency.

Related: How to avoid foreclosure · Try to keep the house · Who to call · Ayuda en español