After processing your application, which can take 90 days or longer, your lender may ask you to make a series of three trial payments. These payments are likely to be lower than your current payment amount, but may or may not reflect the payments proposed in a final mortgage modification offer.
A mortgage modification changes the terms of your original mortgage agreement. Your lender will work with you to try and find a way to lower your monthly payment by adjusting the terms of your current mortgage. The goal is to help you get back on track.
Strictly speaking, a modification to a mortgage does not need to be recorded to be enforceable between the borrower and the lender, as they are bound by the modification as a matter of contract law.