When a customer does not pay their mortgage on time, their lender may report the lateness to a credit bureau.

Each state will have a particular law regarding how late a customer can be before it can be reported late. This is called grace period.

Mortgage lates are one of the biggest determining factors of the interest rate you will qualify for. If you are in a tough situation and cannot pay all your bills for the month, always make your mortgage payment top priority.

The severity of the lateness is measured by the number of days by which the payment is late.

A lateness of 30 days is reported when 2 payments are due.

A lateness of 60 days is recorded when 3 payments are due

Even if you have latenesses recorded on your credit report, there are still excellent programs which your mortgage broker will be able to help you qualify for.