Personal Finance guide

The Loss Mitigation Department. This is a specialized department that you will find at your Lender and/or Mortgage Servicer. If you have never been late on your mortgage, you may not even know this department existed. If you have been late on your mortgage, I’m sure you may have received phone calls directly from this deparment or may have been transferred there from customer service.

This department exists to mitigate (reduce) the loss that your bank faces during the foreclosure process. It essentially exists to keep homeowners in their home. Why? Because a foreclosure is very expensive for your bank. Your bank DOES NOT want to foreclose on your home, but they WILL if they have to. They are not in the business of buying and selling real estate. They are in the business of collecting monthly mortgage payments. Therefore, the loss mitigation department exists to work out payment solutions with troubled homeowners to prevent foreclosure from happening. What are some of these payment solutions? It could anything from a Reinstatement, Repayment plan (forbearance), Loan modification, or Short sale. Continue reading ‘Inside Your Lender's Loss Mitigation Department’ »

Every quarter the economic indicators like the unemployment and inflation figures paint a bleak economic outlook; with no respite in sight more and more home owners have to contend with the bitter reality of foreclosure. Now while some homeowners explore the refinancing option many just accept the inevitable and the lending institution foreclose their homes. However, what many of these homeowners fail to realize is that there is another option in the form of home loan modification which can help them to save their homes.

A mortgage modification entails the renegotiation of the existing loan terms. So a home loan modification can encompass a gamut of solution like decreasing the interest rate, increasing the tenure of the loan and others; all ultimately aimed at reducing the monthly mortgage payments. This makes mortgage modification the ideal option for home owners who are facing a financial crunch.

If you are wondering what in it for the bank; the answer is quite simple, given the current sub prime crisis coupled with the fact that there are very few buyers in the market makes foreclosure an unfeasible option for the lending institution. Not only do they have to incur the cost of foreclosure proceedings but also they may not be able to recover their dues by selling the home in the absence of buyers.

Continue reading ‘Is Mortgage Modification A Legitamate Soultion To Your Mortgage Problems’ »

Have you missed a mortgage payment? Are you more than 60 days late in making your monthly mortgage payment? If the answer to any on of these questions is a ‘yes’, a foreclosure is a real possibility and the only option to save your home is home loan modification. Not only is a mortgage modification simpler and cheaper than refinancing but also you can opt for it without worrying about your poor credit rating.

When you ask your bank for a home loan modification you are essentially telling them that you cannot meet your monthly mortgage payments. This may be due to a range of reasons that have caused a decrease in your income like divorce, death of an earning member, work related injury, chronic illness, unemployment etc. However, you are letting the bank know that you are confident that you will be able to make the payments if the amount is brought down to a more affordable figure.

You can also tell the bank about the option that is most suitable for you; there are two ways to reduce the monthly mortgage payment:

• To reduce the interest rate

• To increase the loan term.

There are two ways to initiate the home loan modification process you could either approach your bank on your own or you could avail the services of an attorney or a company that can negotiate the terms of the mortgage modification on your behalf.

Continue reading ‘How Loan Modification Can Stop A Foreclosure’ »

If you have missed a mortgage payment or if you are more than 60 days past due, you may be heading for troublesome waters and even a possible foreclosure. The delay in making the payment will reflect badly on your credit score rendering you ineligible for refinancing. In such a situation home loan modification may be the only way to save your house.

Today most lending institutions are not keen on foreclosure simply because they have to spend on the foreclosure proceedings and there are no buyers in the market. So essentially even after foreclosing the house they cannot recover their dues. On the other hand a mortgage modification is a ‘win-win’ solution for both the lender and the borrower. The lending institution can be reasonably sure that they will be able to recover most of their principle amount after granting the home loan modification and the borrower can be sure that the monthly mortgage payment will be more affordable.

When you request your bank to grant you a mortgage modification you are essentially stating that you are in financial trouble and so you will not be able to meet the monthly mortgage payments unless the amount is brought down to a more affordable level.

You will have to submit a home loan modification hardship letter along with other documents that will help the bank to confirm the veracity of your claims. If the bank feels that yours is a genuine case they may grant you a mortgage modification. There are two ways in which you could reduce the monthly payment either by bringing down the interest rate or by increasing the tenure of the loan. In certain cases the bank may also agree to write off a certain amount from the principle.

Continue reading ‘Are You Falling Behind On Your Mortgage – Loan Modification Can Help’ »

A good home loan modification letter should include three crucial elements. These three crucial points will help you to arrange your mortgage modification hardship letter in such a way that it will include all the necessary information and get you the desired results. So when you are drafting a home loan modification hardship letter include the following:

Financial adversity: The first thing that you need to mention in your mortgage modification hardship letter is the financial hardship that you are experiencing and the status of your current financial situation, this should include information about your earning and expenses. Also include the reason for the reduction in income. It is important to make your home loan modification hardship letter as pertinent as possible. You can include factors like work related injury leading to medical expenditure, job loss and interest rate reset among others.

The Time: It is also important to tell the bank about the time when the financial hardship began in your mortgage modification hardship letter. It would be good to verify facts with relevant documents. Your home loan modification hardship letter should include a brief, clear and chronological list of the difficulties and ensuing problems. Include information about late payments or defaults here.

Talk about what you want: The next step is to itemize the plans that you feel will help you to be more regular with your payments. In order to grant a mortgage modification, the bank needs to know that you are a responsible person who will definitely make the payment once the home loan modification has been granted. Tell the bank how reducing the interest rate will help you to meet your monthly payments. If possible also include your new budget plans that you intend to incorporate once the mortgage modification has been approved.

Continue reading ‘Loan Modification Hardship Letter Include’ »