Important information about loan modifications and understanding all your options. You do not need to hire someone to do your loan modification, there are simple steps to be followed which if properly followed should bring you the same results as if you hire a professional loan modification company. Yes, there is some time and paperwork involved but I have found that most people are more patient and can often accomplish as much if not more working with their own banker than someone who is hired to do this job for them.
You should never have to pay an upfront fee, it is illegal. Please see my other article on “Loan modification scams to avoid.” An attorney should be definitely be consulted with and possibly hired to represent you if you were given a “bad loan” or were is some way defrauded and possibly your rights were violated . However as a person who is just trying to lower your monthly payments I would suggest starting by working with your lender and contacting HUD in requesting their assistance in helping you obtain a loan modification.
Almost all of the major lenders and banks have their own guides , loan modification programs and customer service people to help you. Expect that there can be a long waits on the phone and you will have to mail and fax in paperwork but you will be saving yourself thousands of dollars and will likely obtain the same results as hiring a modification company which will either be satisfactory to improve your financial situation or only minimally helpful.
You will need to determine if the monthly reduction which will likely be offered on the loan modification is sufficient to allow you to keep your home. If it is not then you need to consider a back-up plan option of raising the extra needed income in some other way or possibly considering a short sale for debt relief rather than facing a foreclosure.
Foreclosure is usually the worst of all options and hurts your credit the most and for the longest time, usually 5 years with very little or no benefit to the homeowner. Most of the time a bankruptcy will need to be performed to remove any second mortgage lien debts from being collected on.
Deed in leu of Foreclosure is also a bad option since it typically hurts your credit the same way as a foreclosure, a large drop in your FICO score and 5 years on your credit report. Bankruptcy will hurt your FICO score and will remain on your record usually for about 10 years. However you may be able to receive loans and rebuild your credit , although not a home loan, and rebuild your credit within a couple of years depending on the cause of your bankruptcy. It is can be used to stop a foreclosure but a short sale will usually have the same results with much less negative impact to your credit and will not appear on your credit report as will a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy however can be very useful when you have more than just mortgage debts and want to start with a clean slate.
A short sale also hurts your FICO score somewhat, only if you miss payments, but not as badly as a foreclosure or bankruptcy and for a much shorter time period and will allow you to purchase another home much sooner, usually in about 2 years if payments were missed. A new home can be purchased almost immediately after a short sale if there were no missed payments. It is not “stamped” on your credit report as is a foreclosure or bankruptcy. A short sale if done correctly by the short sale negotiator-Realtor, will allow you to negotiate that as part of the short sale approval any second mortgage lien debt will be forgiven. This is a large benefit because after a foreclosure the former owner is still usually responsible for any second mortgage lien debts especially if they were not purchase money . Certain types of short sales also provide government cash incentives to the homeowner for moving expenses. Please contact me for a more in depth confidential consultation about all of the options and programs which are available to distressed homeowners. This may help you decide which options are best for your financial situation. Contact me if you need help or have any questions about the steps to obtaining a successful loan modification. I wish you every success in obtaining a good and helpful loan modification but It is always good to know all your options and to have a backup plan “B”.
I have written a detailed step by step book on how to do loan modifications. It is too long to post on my website. However, if you want to receive a copy of the book I will email you a free copy of the book. All you have to do is fill out the form below: Please enter your name and email address. Your information will only be used to email you a copy of the book. All information you give me will be confidential.