In the first 90 days behind on a Connecticut mortgage, your servicer is required to reach out and explain options, and federal rules generally keep a foreclosure case from being filed yet. Use this window to contact a HUD-approved counselor, gather documents, and explore every option before deciding anything.
Why the first 90 days matter
Falling behind on a mortgage payment is stressful, and it's common to feel embarrassed or want to avoid the mail and the phone. You don't have to have this figured out today. The good news, if there is any, is that the first stretch of delinquency comes with built-in time and required notices from your servicer. Nothing about missing one or two payments means you are about to lose your home. This page walks through what typically happens, week by week, so you know what to expect and what you can do.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice about your situation. A Connecticut attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor can look at your specific loan, income, and goals and help you decide what makes sense.
What should I do in the first week or two?
Open the mail and answer the phone. Letters and calls from your servicer usually contain information about options, not just demands.
Call your servicer yourself if you haven't heard from them. Ask what loss mitigation options exist for your situation.
Contact a HUD-approved housing counselor. This service is free. Counselors can review your budget, explain your options, and help you organize paperwork.
Start a simple file with your loan number, recent statements, and notes from every call, including dates and names.
Be cautious of anyone who contacts you first promising to stop foreclosure for a fee. See foreclosure rescue scams to avoid for warning signs.
What happens around day 30 to 45?
Under federal mortgage servicing rules (12 CFR § 1024.39), most servicers must make a good-faith effort to reach you by phone or in person by about the 36th day of delinquency, and must send you a written notice by about the 45th day. That notice has to encourage you to get in touch, give you a direct contact at the servicer, describe examples of loss mitigation options that may be available, and tell you how to reach a HUD-approved housing counselor.
This isn't a favor the servicer is choosing to do. It's a federal requirement. If you haven't received anything like this by this point, it's worth calling your servicer directly to ask where things stand.
What's different about Connecticut around day 45 to 60?
Connecticut has its own notice requirement for certain mortgages. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-265ee, before a lender can start foreclosing on an eligible mortgage, it generally must mail the homeowner a notice, by registered or certified mail, giving 60 days to either meet with the lender (or a counseling agency) or contact the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) about the Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP). A HUD-approved counselor can tell you whether your loan qualifies and help you respond within that window.
CHFA's EMAP program, where eligible, can provide a loan to bring a delinquent mortgage current and, in some cases, ongoing monthly assistance while a hardship continues. You can read more about this and other programs on state and federal help for struggling homeowners. Questions about EMAP itself can go to CHFA's customer call center at (860) 571-3500.
What happens between day 60 and 90?
This is usually the stretch where you're deciding what to do next: continue negotiating with your servicer, apply for EMAP or another assistance program, or start thinking seriously about whether keeping the home is realistic for your household right now. Under a separate federal rule (12 CFR § 1024.41(f)), most servicers generally cannot make the first notice or court filing to start a foreclosure until a loan is more than 120 days delinquent, which gives most homeowners well past the 90-day mark before a case would typically be filed. That window can move depending on your loan, your servicer, and whether you've submitted a complete application for assistance, so don't treat any specific date as guaranteed.
If a case is eventually filed, Connecticut foreclosures go through court, and owner-occupants of 1-4 family homes are generally eligible for the Connecticut foreclosure mediation program. For a fuller picture of what a filed case looks like, see how foreclosure works in Connecticut.
Where does selling the house fit in?
Selling is one option among several, not the default answer. Some homeowners keep the home through a modification or EMAP assistance. Others decide, after weighing everything, that selling makes more sense for their finances and peace of mind. If you're trying to understand what your home might be worth and what equity you may have, a regular sale is often still possible even after a case is filed, which is worth knowing even if you're not there yet. RYZE Realty Group offers a free, no-pressure "should you sell?" review, a valuation and equity walkthrough, so you have real numbers alongside the other options a counselor or attorney lays out. We don't negotiate with lenders or make promises about stopping a foreclosure; that's work for your servicer, an attorney, or your HUD-approved counselor.
What should I avoid doing in the first 90 days?
Don't ignore mail or calls from your servicer, even if you don't have an answer yet.
Don't pay anyone upfront who claims they can guarantee a loan modification or stop a foreclosure.
Don't sign over your deed or title to a stranger who offers to "take over payments."
Don't assume one missed payment means the house is already lost. It almost never does.
For a broader view of where this fits among your choices, see Behind on Your Connecticut Mortgage? Know Your Options.