Borrower Info

To request a change to your payment amount or payment date, your request MUST 1) be received by HFLS at least 4 business days prior to your next scheduled payment and 2) adhere to the requirements and instructions below.

You may request the following types of loan payment modifications:

• A temporary reduction in your monthly payment amount, only under the following circumstances:
  • You have previously made at least 3 successful monthly payments in accordance with your original repayment schedule.
  • The reduction lasts no more than three months. 
  • The reduced payment amount is no less than $100 per month.
• A temporary or permanent change to your monthly payment date, from the 5th of the month to the 20th or vice versa.
• A temporary or permanent increase in your monthly payment amount, which will result in a shorter loan term.
• Pay off your loan balance in full on your next scheduled payment date.  

To request one of the modifications described above, please begin by completing and submitting the brief form located here. 

Within two business days, a Loan Officer will send you a unique link to provide details of your modification request. Within two business days of submitting your modification request details, you will receive email notification of whether your modification request is approved.

Email Loan@HFLS.org to request a change to the checking account from which you are making payments. 

Please do NOT send sensitive documents or information over email. The Loan Officer who responds to your email will provide you with a unique, secure link where you can upload documentation of a new checking account. HFLS can accept a voided check or any type of bank-generated document that includes the following information:

• Your name
• Your bank’s name
• Your bank’s routing number
• Your checking account number

If your checking account does not have enough money in it to cover your scheduled payment, HFLS will receive notification from the bank that your payment “failed” (also called a “bounced” or “missed” payment). When this happens, your bank charges a $10 fee, which HFLS will pass on to you. 

A Loan Officer will contact you after we receive notification of your failed payment to find out what happened and how you’d like to make up the payment and pay the $10 fee. For instance, you may add another payment on to the end of your loan term, pay double on a future scheduled payment date, or slightly increase some of your future monthly repayments.

Please note that, after two consecutive failed payments, HFLS will contact your guarantor(s) to request that they follow up with you or take over repayment of your loan.

If you know in advance that you might not have enough money in your account to cover your upcoming HFLS loan payment, please review the information above about how and when you may request a temporary change to your monthly repayment amount.

As noted in the Repayment Changes section above, it may take two to three business days after your scheduled payment date for the HFLS withdrawal to appear in your checking account, so we ask that you please wait until a few days after your payment date before contacting HFLS about your repayment transaction.

Please note that HFLS does not withdraw monthly payment from your checking account when the 5th or the 20th fall on weekends, bank holidays, or other civic or religious holidays on which the HFLS office is closed. In these cases, HFLS withdraws the scheduled monthly payment on the next business day.

Email Loan@HFLS.org to describe what happened. Please do NOT send sensitive documents or information over email. We can send you a unique, secure link to provide a screenshot or other documentation of the error and any fees you incurred as a result. If we find that HFLS made an error, we will offer to refund the payment to you and cover any related fees, or you can choose to apply any overpayment to future scheduled loan payments.

If you are facing financial difficulties, we encourage you to refer to the first question above for information about how you can request a temporary reduction in your monthly payment amount. HFLS will work with you as best we can within our statement guidelines to accommodate your situation while ensuring your loan is ultimately repaid in full. 

If a borrower does not contact HFLS regarding their inability to repay their loan or is not able to make monthly payments of any amount, the guarantor is expected – and legally obligated – to repay the loan, as per the promissory note that they signed along with the borrower when HFLS closed the loan. If you are not eligible for a temporary reduction in your monthly payment amount, we encourage you to contact your guarantor for assistance making your payments.

If a borrower fails two consecutive payments or does not respond to HFLS after their first failed payment, HFLS will contact their guarantor(s) so they can follow up with the borrower or begin repaying the loan on the borrower’s behalf. If the guarantor(s) refuse or are unable to repay the loan, HFLS may be forced to take the loan to collections, in which case the HFLS collections attorney will contact the borrower, their guarantor(s), and all spouses regarding potential legal action. 

A borrower or guarantor who fails to repay the loan they are responsible for will be prohibited from borrowing from HFLS or guaranteeing an HFLS loan in the future. 

HFLS typically permits a household to have only one loan outstanding at a time; however, HFLS can make exceptions for special circumstances.

You or someone else in your household may apply for a second loan while repaying your first loan ONLY if you meet ALL of the following criteria:

• You have an urgent or time-sensitive need for additional funds.
• You have repaid at least 40% of your current outstanding loan.
• You have a good payment history on your outstanding loan to date (you have not failed numerous payments or requested numerous payment reductions).
• The balance on your outstanding loan plus your new loan request amount may not exceed the program’s maximum loan amount. (For example: If you are applying for a General Needs Loan, your current loan balance plus the requested new loan amount may NOT total more than the General Needs Loan maximum of $7,500).

If your loan request does not meet ALL of the criteria above, HFLS will NOT approve it. 

If you are eligible to apply for a second loan while your first is still outstanding, you still must complete a new loan application for the second loan. Click here to view a list of all HFLS loan programs, click on the program to which you’d like to apply, and scroll to the bottom of the page for the online loan application link for that program. Please note that your monthly repayment amount will remain the same regardless of the amount of your second loan.