Struggling to Keep Your Home?
Mortgage Loan Modification Can Help
People’s financial situation can change in an instant. All kinds of difficulties can prevent you from making ends meet, and your mortgage may go into arrears. Mortgage loan modifications can help get you back on track!
Circumstances that may result in unpaid bills and threats of foreclosure vary, and may include:
1. Medical difficulties
2. Loss or reduction of income
3. Family conflict or divorce
4. Death in the family
5. Unexpected expenses
Whatever the cause, you may be faced with a fear of foreclosure on your property, and the possibility of losing your hard-earned home. However, all is not lost; The Obama administration has made it possible for lenders to work with you to amend your home loan and return you to regular payment lines and ultimately, full title to your home!
In the past, late and missed payments generally resulted in threats made by the lender, very few options to get back on track, and eventual default on the loan and foreclosure of the property by the lender. Homeowners have little recourse, as there are no federal regulations that allow lenders to seek alternatives with homeowners.
Can I Really Qualify for this Help?
Now you can seek relief from a huge mortgage payment even if:
1. You have bad credit or none at all
2. You’re not even late paying
3. You are just starting to fall behind
4. You have received a Notification of Default from the lender
5. You have been notified of the date of the Trustee Sale of your property
6. You own more than one property
You can even get a modified mortgage loan and stop foreclosures even if you owe more than your home is currently worth! The first step to getting a modification is to hire an attorney to protect your interests.
Do I Really Need a Lawyer?
You may think at first that an attorney is just one more unnecessary expense. However, mortgage loan modification can be a complicated process, and if you are personally inexperienced in contract law, you may find yourself falling victim to unscrupulous loan modification ‘experts’, who will arrange your loan to benefit the lender instead of you and go. You are in even worse shape than before.
Anyone, including you, can legally negotiate a loan change. However, an attorney is knowledgeable about the system and how to protect your interests, and can prevent you from being caught by one of the many scammers currently taking advantage of troubled homeowners.
These people bill themselves as loan modification consultants, and will do everything they can to convince you that they have to handle all the negotiations with your lender in order for you to qualify for a mortgage loan modification. In reality, it’s not hard to qualify – the hardest part is making sure the loan agreement is written in a way that actually relieves you of some of your burdens and protects you from trouble for years to come. Loan modifications should be a long-term solution designed to allow you to pay off your home eventually, not a short-term device meant only to prevent foreclosure for a year or two.
Steps to Obtain a Modified Mortgage Loan
Lenders will want to know exactly what happened to cause you to need a mortgage modification. A distress letter should be drafted to explain your situation and detail why you need to change your existing loan agreement.
A budget worksheet should be filled out listing all of your expenses and sources of income, to show the lender that you will be able to defer your new agreement and make payments on schedule.
The following documents need to be collected and presented along with a letter of difficulty and a budget worksheet to your lender:
1. Proof of income, including two recent payment deductions for each borrower plus their W2
2. Value of the last two years’ tax returns, including schedules for self-employment or rental income
3. Bank statements for the last two months (all pages must be included)
4. All correspondence regarding current mortgages, including payment coupons, tax and insurance information, and HOA fees
A qualified loan modification attorney or consultant will be able to help you find and present all paperwork to your lender, and will be part of the process from start to finish, ensuring your interests are protected and that the final mortgage agreement is yours. can comply. It gives you the security of knowing that you will eventually be able to pay off your loan and achieve your dream of owning your own home!
