US Home Loan Advocates » Loan Modification

Webinar – October 7 – Town Hall Webinar With Martin Andelman and David Bartels

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:16:05 +0000

Town Hall Webinar with Martin Andelman and David Bartels

When: Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM PDT

Presenters:

Martin Andelman – Mandelman Matters

David Bartels -US Home Loan Advocates

Webinar Overview:

Join Martin Andelman, the country’s leading authority on what’s really going on in the loan modification industry.

He’s the writer behind the highly popular and often controversial Mandelman Matters blog, and a staff writer for The Niche Report magazine.

When people want honest insight into what’s going on in the economy, in government and inside the banks… they read Mandelman Matters on The Mortgage Lender / Implode-o-meter.

In this fast paced webinar, Martin will speak with David Bartels, the industry’s top advocate for No Up-Front Fee loan modifications, about what homeowners should expect over the next few months from lenders and servicers.

Martin is the expert that wants borrowers to know: “It’s not your fault… it’s the banks.”

Learn how Obama’s “Home Affordable Modification Plan” works, why traditional work-out modifications almost always fail, as well as the legal and ethical issues involved with hiring third-party loan modification companies / attorneys under the new state laws.

Also, find out how to offer No Up-Front Fee loan modifications to your friends and clients.

Martin Andelman’s Related Articles:

When Walking Away From A Home Becomes A Business Decision

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:59:30 +0000

Leaving Affordable Mortgage May Become Winning Gambit (Update1)

By Margaret Collins

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — Scott Conroy pays the mortgage every month on his one-bedroom condominium in San Diego, even though it’s worth 33 percent less than what he owes and it may take more than a decade to break even.

Homeowners like Conroy who can afford their monthly payments are weighing whether to sell and pay the difference, stick it out until housing prices recover, or walk away.

In the U.S., 26 percent of borrowers owe more than their home is worth, said Karen Weaver, global head of securitization research for New York-based Deutsche Bank Securities. In parts of California, Florida and Nevada, it’s as high as 75 percent.

So-called strategic defaults, in which homeowners stop paying their mortgages while remaining current on other debts, rose 128 percent to 588,000 last year, according to Experian PLC, a Dublin-based credit-checking company, and Oliver Wyman, a New York-based consulting firm. Two-thirds of those who walked away defaulted on their primary residences.

“You’re looking at an extremely long horizon in order to see a return of home values to where they were at their peak,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow.com, the Seattle-based real estate data service. “It could be 15 to 20 years in some markets.”

Strategic defaulters represent about 4 percent of all homeowners underwater. That trickle could become a flood as the likelihood recedes that home prices will soon return to their peak values, said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc., an online seller of real estate data.

Forty Percent Drop

In San Diego, where Conroy lives, home values are down about 40 percent since March 2006 when he bought his place, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index of 20 U.S. metropolitan areas. Prices have rebounded for three consecutive months, returning to the October 2002 level, before the start of the housing boom. Nationwide, home values are what they were in September 2003, according to the Case-Shiller index as of July.

“You have to ask yourself: Are you just renting the home from the bank?” said Michael Joe, a foreclosure expert at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. “Would it be cheaper to walk away and rent across the street?”

Conroy, 32, and his wife purchased their home for $385,000 in March 2006, a month before marrying. The property was reassessed this summer for $250,000. The couple is trying to save, he said, knowing they may have to move to a bigger place within 18 months to start a family.

“We’ve given up on this dream of having equity in our home,” Conroy said. “We don’t expect to walk away with cash in hand, we expect to pay.”

State Laws

More homeowners may opt to take a hit to their credit score rather than come up with cash to cover the loss, especially in California and the nine other U.S. states where the legal repercussions of foreclosures are less than other parts of the country, said Sharga.

Ten states are so-called non-recourse, prohibiting deficiency judgments after most home foreclosures: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington, according to the National Consumer Law Center, based in Boston. The bank can repossess your home in those states, not other assets, to settle the debt.

In California, a second-mortgage holder may try to pursue a delinquent borrower to repay through litigation, said Rick Brooks, a financial adviser with the San Diego-based wealth advisory firm Blankinship & Foster. Banks generally prefer not to sue because it can easily cost $60,000 or more, said Debra Guzov, co-founder of the law firm Guzov Ofsink LLC, based in New York.

Short Sales

Banks may be more willing to accept foreclosure alternatives, such as a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, in states where a lender can’t sue for personal assets, said Brad Geisen, chief executive officer of Foreclosure.com, based in Boca Raton, Florida.

In a short sale, the borrower finds a buyer for the home at an acceptable price and the bank agrees to forgive the difference, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with North Palm Beach, Florida-based Bankrate.com. In a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, the bank sells the home after a similar debt negotiation.

Tax Break

A 2007 law exempts from tax up to $2 million of debt forgiven in a foreclosure or similar proceeding for a primary residence, according to Internal Revenue Service spokesman Eric Smith. The tax break extends to 2012.

The lender’s willingness to negotiate varies and depends on the loan balance, condition of the property, location, and resale opportunities, said Alberta Hultman, chief executive officer of USFN, an association of U.S. mortgage banking attorneys based in Tustin, California.

Short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures are considered the same as a foreclosure on your credit score, said Craig Watts, spokesman for Minneapolis-based FICO Corp., owner of the credit-scoring formula most widely used by U.S. lenders.

A foreclosure remains on a credit report for seven years. Credit scores can begin to rebound in as little as 2 years if bills are paid on time, according to FICO.

“You really want to think through the inability to borrow and higher rates that you’ll pay,” Christopher Van Slyke, a partner at Trovena LLC, a wealth management firm based in La Jolla, California, said of walking away.

“If you don’t have the gun to your head then stay right where you are,” said Cheryl Morhauser, a financial adviser based in Nevada City, California, whose clients’ average net worth is $1.5 million to $3 million.

Staying Put

Jennifer Albaugh, 34, plans to keep her Las Vegas home, where prices have dropped 49 percent since she bought it in December 2004, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index.

Albaugh, who owns a fabric store, might have sold her 3,000-square-foot house for as much as $550,000 four years ago, she said. Today she owes more than $300,000 on her mortgage and says her house isn’t worth even close to that. She and her husband are still looking to buy a bigger home for their two kids, especially while rates are low and might turn their current home into a vacation rental, she said.

“Walking out of your house to get a better deal down the street is just not the right thing to do,” she said. “It hurts everybody.”

Social Stigma

Morality and social stigmas play an important role in whether someone who can afford the payments will walk away, said Paola Sapienza, professor of finance at Northwestern University’s business school, in a July study on strategic defaults. Eighty-one percent of 1,646 homeowners interviewed think it is morally wrong, the study found.

“If you know someone who’s done it you’re way more likely to do it,” Sapienza said. “That’s the scariest part, is that there might be some contagion part of this.”

Albaugh and Conroy, the San Diego homeowner, said they’re frustrated by the lack of help for homeowners like them who keep paying.

“It seems like the banks are more willing to work with people who aren’t making their payments rather than people who are,” Conroy said.

Source: Bloomberg.com / Margaret Collins

Last Updated: October 1, 2009 11:26 EDT

Citi Mortgage – Net Present Value Test (NPV) Secrets

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:05:57 +0000

The Secret Test That Ensures Lenders Win on Loan Modifications

“NPV Test: Failed”

That was the red-lettered verdict on the computer screen of a CitiMortgage negotiator in June. The result: An 83-year-old widow in Illinois was denied a loan modification through the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program, even though the employee admitted in an e-mail, “I am unable to come up with a reason for the denial.”

The Net Present Value test is a complex computer model used by loan servicers to determine whether a homeowner qualifies for the federal loan modification program. The test compares two scenarios – modification and foreclosure – and determines which would be more profitable for the lender. If it’s foreclosure, the lender has no obligation to modify the loan. But the model is a black box. What goes in isn’t entirely clear, and what comes out isn’t always reliable.

The Treasury Department has refused to release the exact formula for the NPV model, bringing criticism from homeowner advocates and industry experts. Cloaking the NPV formula in secrecy makes it difficult to identify any potential flaws in the design of the program, which has generated fewer modifications than anticipated [1]. There are assumptions built into the model, and they may not be the right ones, said Diane Thompson of the National Consumer Law Center. “Someone needs to be able to review it.”

In congressional testimony last Wednesday, Michael Barr, assistant secretary for financial institutions, said that the Treasury Department was taking steps toward “greater disclosure of the NPV evaluation.” Full disclosure would bring the department in line with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which made public the NPV formula [2] (PDF) developed for its loan modification program, on which Making Home Affordable is based. In the meantime, a Treasury spokeswoman responded to all questions by pointing to an overview of the model [3] (PDF) available online.

In it, the department says that the NPV is an “objective test” that standardizes the process for evaluating mortgages under the program.

In testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in July, Thompson said that homeowners and advocates need access to the model to determine whether loan servicers have used the test accurately — or at all. Without it, she said, “homeowners are entirely reliant on the servicer’s good faith.”

She said that she had heard many anecdotal reports about servicers entering inaccurate information into the model. Because the results give little indication of which variable is to blame, there’s little recourse to challenge a lender’s refusal to modify. Nor is there an opportunity for the homeowner to correct the problem.

An additional concern is whether servicers are even using the test for all candidates. Irwin Trauss, supervising attorney at Philadelphia Legal Assistance, told a House Judiciary Committee panel in July about a homeowner who was denied a modification by Wells Fargo, even though “there was no suggestion that the NPV test … was even done.” When his organization brought the case to Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo was “embarrassed into” reversing its decision, according to Trauss. Wells Fargo did not respond to a request for comment.

The lack of transparency is also vexing because certain variables in the formula – like home value, the estimated time it will take to foreclose, the risk of default and estimated foreclosure costs – are subjective and could be improperly assessed, industry experts say.

“It’s more art than science,” said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. “Who knows whether the borrower will default, what the value of the property is, what will happen to home values,” he said. “I’m skeptical of all of it.”

“The valuation of a house is a very variable thing,” Trauss said. “A real estate agent drives by and gets a price, but it’s fairly worthless and subject to being overstated or understated depending on the lender.”

Nathan Reynolds, a mortgage broker assisting the 83-year-old Illinois homeowner with her loan modification on a pro bono basis, was given the rare chance by a CitiMortgage negotiator to see the actual numbers plugged into the NPV — and Reynolds insists that the company used an inflated home value. “They just pulled some bogus appraised value out of the air,” he said.

Mark Rodgers, a CitiMortgage spokesman, did not respond to questions about the house value, saying only, “We are pleased to have identified a solution for this borrower.” That solution is a modification requiring monthly payments that are about $900 less than she is paying now, but roughly $200 more than they would have been under the Making Home Affordable plan.

The purpose of the NPV test is to indicate to lenders how to make the most money off of a particular borrower. Ironically, homeowners who have more equity in their home may be at a disadvantage.

A “huge driver” of the test, according to Thompson, is the relationship between the current value of the home and the unpaid portion of the loan. If a house is worth more than the remaining mortgage balance, “there’s a benefit to the investor from foreclosing. It will recover the entire value of the loan if it forecloses, not if it modifies,” she said. The impact of this variable, however, can be offset by other considerations, like the amount of time it will take to foreclose or the likelihood of foreclosure.

If the NPV test ultimately churns out a “negative” result, meaning the lender will make more money by denying the modification, the homeowner won’t get a Making Home Affordable modification unless the lender agrees to take a loss.

“Even though the administration is promoting loan modifications, they’re still operating from the premise that ‘we don’t want you to make loan modifications that aren’t going to make more money than a foreclosure,’” Cecala said. “This is very different from what community groups see as the (program’s) purpose.”

Source: ProPublica.org

The Modification Approval – It’s All In The Packaging

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:57:32 +0000

Whether you are trying to get approved for an Obama Making Home Affordable Modification, or attempting to negotiate an alternative foreclosure prevention plan with your lender /servicer, proper presentation and processing of your hardship package is essential to your success.

In some cases, it just boils down to simple math that involves income, employment, property values and modified loan terms.

Basically, a bank needs to analyze your unique scenario to determine whether or not a loan modification will serve the best financial interests of their investors.

As you could probably imagine, loss mitigation departments at most of the major lenders and loan servicing companies have been overwhelmed with a flood of case files over the recent months since the announcement of the new Making Home Affordable Program.

Even though the Making Home Affordable Program was launched to create a standard set of guidelines, banks have just recently started to adopt these new rules of engagement to help distressed homeowners lower their monthly mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure.

Unfortunately, even HAMP participating banks aren’t necessarily legally bound to follow these guidelines.

Either way, to expedite the application and approval process, it is important to submit a complete loan modification hardship package the first time with all of the correct documents.

Things to pay close attention to when submitting your loan modification paperwork:

1. Income /Employment and Asset verification

2. Hardship Letter that describes how the bank will benefit by modifying your loan

3. Financial analysis that breaks down your monthly budget in exact detail

4. Property value reports that may help with the bank’s Net Present Value determination of approval

5. Letters of explanation for other liabilities that appear on a credit report

6. Potential lender violations found in a loan audit report that have contributed to your hardship

The Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Plan is not the only program available to homeowners who may be under water or need help finding a more affordable monthly mortgage payment.

US Home Loan Advocates does not charge up-front fees, and we will even consider loan modification cases on contingency.

We have a complete packaging program available for homeowners who wish to negotiate their loan modification on their own, but would like our professional help preparing their file.

Related Articles

15 Common Lender Violations Found In A Loan Audit

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:42:18 +0000

A Loan Audit could be your last line of defense against a foreclosure.

Almost 90% of the mortgage loans funded between 2002 and 2006 have lender violations, some serious enough to have the mortgage rescinded.

While most loans do not contain blatant predatory lending violations, there are several common infractions that lenders have made on mortgage loans that could be used as leverage during a loan modification negotiation.

Here are a few things our team of experts can uncover in a Loan Audit:

1. Excessive lending fees that have been hidden or not properly explained on a final settlement statement.

2. Discrepancies between the original Good Faith Estimate (GFE), Truth In Lending Act (TILA) disclosure, APR, final HUD, and lender compensation.

3. Date and signatures not matching with final signed loan documents.

4. Misrepresentation of the original terms as explained and documented by the originating loan officer and the final signed application.

5. Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) violations where affiliated business relationships were not disclosed or ignored.

6. Inflated appraisals and collusion.

7. Loan servicing violations where the lender did not notify the borrower of the amount of loans sold and retained.

8. Compliance and Quality Control practices of the lender.

9. Accurate (APR) calculations of Adjustable Rate Mortgages, Negatively Amortized Loans, Interest Only loans, and teaser rate programs.

10. Breach of Contract where the broker does not abide by the terms of the mortgage note.

11. Failure to notify borrower of default status according to state foreclosure laws.

12. Fee splitting and improper placement of third party charges on the final settlement statement.

13. Regulation Z Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) disclosures not delivered to the borrower in the required time frame.

14. Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) violations of discrimination.

15. Broker / Co-broker relationships between lenders, developers, and real estate companies.

Related Articles

Required Documents For A Loan Modification

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:32:53 +0000

One of the most important factors in getting a successful loan modification is submitting a complete package.

US Home Loan Advocates will need the following documents in order to evaluate your scenario and get it submitted to your lender/servicer:

1. ___ Current driver’s license

2. ___ Two most recent pay stubs

3. ___ Two most recent year’s W2s

4. ___ Two most recent year’s Tax Returns

5. ___ Three most recent bank statements

6. ___ Three most recent other asset statements

7. ___ Annual Hazard Insurance statement

8. ___ Recent Property Tax statement

9. ___ Mortgage Payment Coupon / Statements

10. ___ Recent HOA statement

11. ___ Documentation of all known liens on property

12. ___ Hardship Letter

13. ___ Financial Worksheet

14. ___ Loan Modification Disclosures

We will listen to your story, properly prepare your case file and negotiate directly with insiders at your mortgage company to get you quick results.

Let us help you cut through the red tape and work to find the best solution that meets your needs.

Related Articles

Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP)

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:30:31 +0000

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP) is part of President Obama’s Home Affordability and Stability plan that was announced on February 18, 2009.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP) was designed to help up to 7 to 9 million American homeowners modifi or refinance their current loans to avoid foreclosure. This is a temporary program created to bring financial stability to the current housing and economic crisis.

With over 11 – 12% homes either in foreclosure or at least one payment past due, as reported on March 5, 2009 by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Treasury Department hopes to help 3 – 4 million at-rist homeowners obtain more affordable monthly mortgage payments.

One of the objectives of the (HMP) is to create universal loan modification guidelines so that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers can quickly determine the eligibility of their borrowers and work towards preventing foreclosure by lowering monthly payments through a process of rate reduction, extended loan terms, or the HomeSaver Forbearance™ Program.

Simply put, a 31% Debt-to-Income ratio has been set as the standard target that banks need to hit to make the Home Modification Program work for homeowners who are in currently in default or facing imminent risk of going late on their mortgage due to a hardship.

Who is eligible for the Home Modification Program?

Loans originated on or before January 1, 2009.

First-lien loans on owner-occupied properties with an unpaid principle balance up to $729,750. Higher limits allowed for owner-occupied properties with 2-4 units.

All borrowers must fully document income, including signed IRS 4506-T, two most recent pay stubs, and most recent tax return, and must sign an affidavit of financial hardship.

Property owner occupancy status will be verified through borrower credit report and other documentation; no investor-owned, vacant, or condemned properties.

The mortgage loan has not been previously modified under the HMP.

The mortgage loan is delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable; loans currently in foreclosure are eligible.

A borrower actively involved in a bankruptcy proceeding is eligible for the HMP at the servicer’s discretion. Borrowers who have received a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge in a case involving the first lien mortgage who did not reaffirm the mortgage debt under applicable law are eligible, provided the Home Affordable Modification Workout Plan and Home Affordable Modification Agreement are revised.

A borrower in active litigation regarding the mortgage loan is eligible for the HMP. The servicer may not require a borrower to waive legal rights as a condition of the HMP.

The borrower agrees to set up an escrow account for taxes and insurance prior to the beginning of the trial period if one does not currently exist.

The mortgage loan is not insured or guaranteed by a federal government agency (FHA, HUD, VA, and Rural Development).

Regular servicing option MBS pool mortgages and portfolio mortgage loans are subject to lender recourse are ineligible for the HMP.

Borrowers may be accepted into the program if the HMP Workout Plan is fully executed and returned to the servicer prior to the expiration of the program on December 31, 2012.

The borrower’s total monthly house payment, including mortgage, property taxes, house insurance, and homeowner’s fees, is more than 31% of the household’s gross monthly income.

The Borrower’s loan is not affordable due to a financial hardship and insufficient liquid assets to continue making monthly payments at the current amount. The hardship can be a decrease in income, an increase in expenses, a jump in mortgage payments, illness, or other crisis situation.

If the borrower’s total monthly expenses (modified mortgage, second mortgage, credit card debt, car loans, student loans, child support, etc.) are very high compared to the monthly income, they must agree to get homeowner counseling from a HUD-approved counseling agency prior to being approved for a Home Affordable modification.

*Any mortgage provider that accepts bailout money from the U.S. Treasury is required to participate. For other lenders, participation is voluntary. However, all major lenders are expected take part because of the financial incentives they will get.

What are the main benefits of the Home Modification Program?

A new monthly mortgage payment (total of mortgage principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and homeowner association fees) that is equal or less than 31% of the borrower’s gross monthly household income.

A lower interest rate as low as 2% with a gradual increase for 5 years. This new below market rate will increase 1% for 5 years and can never go higher than the market interest rate that was in effect when the loan was modified.

If lowering the interest rate still does not bring the total DTI under 31%, then the lender may also extend the loan up to 40 years, defer payment on a portion of the loan with no interest (forbearance), or forgive a portion of the debt.

There is a 3 month trial period to see if the borrower can make the new payment on time.

For each mortgage payment that is made on time, the borrower will earn a Pay-for-performance Success Payment from the government which will lower the principal balance. The government will pay up o $1000 per year for up t 5 years, for a total of $5000. However, the borrower must stay in the program for one year before the payments are applied to the loan.

In some cases where there is a second mortgage, the government will make a cash offer to the lien holder to forgive the debt.

Any unpaid late fees are waived.

Related Articles

3 Things To Look For Before Hiring A Loan Modification Company

admin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:08:49 +0000

Besides having the ability to expedite the negotiation process, the main focus of a good loan modification company should be to work with your from the beginning to examine your financial options and how to make this the best possible outcome for your family.

If you feel that a loan modification would be helpful in your situation then here are some of the things you need to look at when talking to a Loan Modification expert:

1. Do they ask for up front fees?

There has been a lot of press about people paying money up front before they know of the possible outcomes. The most recent additions to the Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act requires that a foreclosure rescue consultant – a person who tries to arrange a new payment plan with lender or other alternative to foreclosure – provide a written agreement to the consumer and obtain the consumer’s signature before beginning any services.

The legislation further requires the rescue consultant to include in the written agreement a specific notice of the homeowners’ right to cancel, including the procedure for canceling, and a disclosure that the consumer should contact his or her lender first before signing because the lender may be willing to negotiate a payment plan free of charge.

Beware of the company that wants you to send in cash with the promise to make all your troubles disappear. The loan modification company should be asking for information from you before asking for fees. A good modification company will want to know whether they can do anything for you before they discuss the costs.

2. Are they asking about your situation?

A reputable company will want to discuss your situation in order to see if a loan option is a choice for you. This can be done fairly easily with an outline of your expenses, income and outstanding mortgage information. They will not do a modification for you unless there is a high possibility of it working out according to the terms you agreed on.

3. Are they asking for loan documents?

This may sound funny, but if they are asking for money and not asking for documentation then they are not working on a loan modification for you. In order to work on the modification they will need to have certain loan documents sent to them.

Documents such as the HUD-1 settlement statement, Truth-In-Lending and itemization of amount financed disclosures, Initial Application and more. If you need help figuring out what documents you need, the analyst from the modification company or your loan officer should be able to help you find them.

Regardless of your decision, it is important to take action as soon as possible. Sometimes fear or being overwhelmed causes us to freeze in place. Unfortunately, the banks looking to foreclose on your property are not standing still and will move forward unless you or your attorney open up the lines of communication.

It is important to find the right people in your corner that can help navigate this cluttered and confusing Loan Modification process.

Related Articles

3 Reasons To Consider Hiring A Loan Modification Company

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:11:24 +0000

We all know someone who is hurting or has hit a rough patch during these challenging economic times.

With one of our first needs being shelter, the possibility of loosing our home can cause stress that effects every other aspect of our lives.

Whether you are facing a potential increase in mortgage payments, or have recently fallen behind, a loan modification may be a positive option to consider.

Loan Modifications, Foreclosure Prevention, Loan Audit Report, and Short Payoff negotiation are certainly the buzz words on the Internet these days.

In order to protect yourself from the scams that the media is reporting, it is important to get the full story if a Loan Modification is an option you are considering.

Below are a few reasons why a Loan Modification is an option to pay attention to if you are in a position of financial hardship and facing the prospect of loosing your home:

1. A Loan Modification can help make the monthly mortgage payment smaller and more affordable.

Most modifications take into account the changes that have happened in your life – less income, job change, injuries, divorce, etc. This may help in a reduction of interest rate, reduction in payments by spreading out the term of the loan or possibly a reduction in principal.

2. A Loan Modification can eliminate the stress of potential foreclosure or short sale.

Barely treading water, or being upside down on monthly liabilities seems to be a common theme with most American families. This stress leads to health issues, difficulties at work, and even the collapse of the family foundation.

A Loan Modification can help you take back some control of your monthly finances and lay the groundwork for a new beginning. There is no reason to be in fear of answering the phone.

3. Choosing a Loan Modification can help save your credit score.

If you do nothing then you may end up in foreclosure, which will make it more difficult to rebuild your credit in a timely manner. Rental applications become more challenging to get approved with recent foreclosures on your credit as well. Not to mention, most people stop making payments on everything else before they stop paying their mortgage.

However, by working out a solution with your lenders, you can stop further reporting to the credit companies and save additional damage to your credit score.

Related Articles