I never thought I would see the day when the housing industry and the dating industry shared a common struggle — getting ghosted. The term is not so fondly used in the dating world when someone suddenly and without explanation withdraws from communication.

In similar sentiment, the word is used in the mortgage servicing space when a borrower decides to cut contact with their servicer. While it’s never ideal for servicers to have no back-and-forth communication with borrowers, it’s extremely problematic in the current environment, given the last few years of borrowers who filed for and are now coming out of forbearance.

Millions of borrowers who paused payments are needing to decide next steps. Except unlike dating where you might be left with a bruise to your ego and can get back into the dating scene, the outcome of borrowers ghosting servicers could be much worse. You can read all about the consequences in this month’s feature that starts on page 24. And as always, the February issue is the first issue in the new year. As we embark on all things housing in 2022, we want to thank you, our loyal readers, for digging into the top trends and stories with us.