A West Chicago man that lost his foreclosure hearing and had a sale date scheduled is still in his home after not making a payment for 24 months! His lender is Countrywide and once I got his file into the loss mitigation department they cancelled the sale date. There are now working on qualifying him for the Making Home Affordable program and he is likely to keep his home. He is capable of making payments going forward but can’t make up the 24 months past due. I have been able to help clients avoid upfront forbearance payments on all my loan modifications so 24 months without a payment is really 24 months without a payment!

A Des Plaines couple came to me seeking a loan modification on their first mortgage even though their lender (West Suburban) didn’t receive any TARP funds and isn’t participating in Making Home Affordable. When a non-participating lender makes a modification they don’t get any offsetting subsidy from the government so it is much more difficult for them to help homeowners out. I was very impressed as West Suburban lowered their 6.25% loan to 4% for 1 year, 5% for second year, and 5.5% for remaining term. This was a good result however it leaves them with a payment well over 31% of their income and is more likely to re-default then loans done within the Making Home Affordable program. The key will be how well the husband does in his new career, if his income rises then this will be a good save.

March 01, 2009

By: Peter Shu

Orange County, California – According to a recent Gallup Poll, over 50% of Americans feel that offering government aide(mortgage bailout) to homeowners in distress is unfair1. My fellow Americans, it seems as if in this hard time we are hard-pressed to find support from others in more fortunate situations. In fact the same source also outlined that according to America, only 6% of Americans feel that the government’s aide will even have a substantial effect on the mortgage crisis2.  The fact of the matter is that often times hardworking citizens find themselves in times of hardship. You may be one of the homeowners with children, dreams and lives that revolve around your precious home. You may also be a multiple home owner, homes that you have earned through years of hard work. With Americans weary of government assistance, what can homeowners do?

Homeowners have the right to defend themselves against lenders, often times in order to stay in one’s home an individual must take the initiative. During any crisis those who act proactively have historically been the most successful. This is true for any financial investment as well. Albeit, the home for many homeowners is much more then an investment. The reality of the situation is that in order to keep your property, homeowners should not sit and wait for help. Homeowners are now turning to loan modifications as a means of survival. A loan modification is by far the most effective and economically sound decision a homeowner can make. What is a loan modification? A loan modification is a relatively new option that many homeowners are using to keep their properties. As other options are less effective and can cost homeowners much more money. In this current economy smart decisions need to be deciphered and executed in an expedited manner.

The main objective of a loan modification is to offer a homeowner payment relief, this comes in the form of a lowered monthly payment as well as, and not limited to; a lowered interest-rate, reduced principle balance and deferred payments. A loan modification will also recapitalize the arrears; what this means for you as a homeowner is that a successful loan modification will take what ever past due(s) you owe and put it back into the principle. Ultimately the goal of a loan modification is to keep what you own, to further ensure that you keep your property a loan modification will also typically offer an interest only option or fix and fully amortize your loan. Other benefits of a loan modification include; no credit score requirements, will stops foreclosures and will bring a homeowner completely current.

How can a homeowner obtain a loan modification? In order to obtain a loan modification a homeowner must know exactly what to do and/or say to their lender. As many unexperienced homeowners will tell you, a loan modification is not a very easy or simple task. It takes hours upon hours of work as well as a fundamental understanding of what lenders are looking for when approving loan modification. Thus, a homeowners best opportunities lie with an experienced loan modification company. Because of the large number of unscrupulous loan modification companies currently operating, a homeowner’s best shot at a loan modification is through a law firm. This is the case because a lawyer must actually put their license on the line; this ensures legitimacy.  A law firm will offer legal expertise as well as the modification experience required to successfully negotiator a loan modification.

Most of the home owners, under financial difficult situation, want to keep their home. To do so, they would need help. Theloan modification companies can help to get the loan modified according to one’s requirements. To begin with, one should inquire about the reductions that can be done in the principal amount. However, one can save almost equally, with the reduction in the interest rate.

Obama’s governmentloan modification program, is greatly helping the Americans to save their homes. It supports the home owners to modify their loans and avoid foreclosure. Under the head of this new program, the borrowers would not spend more than 38% of their income to fix the new affordable monthly payments, during loan modification. Due to this a number of knock off have been saved.

With the current financial situation, people land up with less disposable income, the staff has to be scaled down. Hence the borrowers have to depend on some financial assistance that can be availed from some lending institute. As a result of several government policies that have been recently introduced, the process of automatic foreclosure is no more in action. Besideshome loan modification, there are several grants and funds that are made available by the government to the borrowers. The government has offered new grant of $75 billion.

But because of all this government aid and student loans, colleges don’t have to bring down costs.

So if you want cheaper and more accessible college shouldnt you want no more government aid or loans?

The Obama administration has seen a significant “ramp up” of loan modification activity, but it often times does not seem like enough when so many people are hurting. Federal loan modifications have helped some people stay in their homes, but the federal government often cannot give enough attention to all of the people who need help right now. Think about the millions upon millions of homeowners who need assistance with their mortgages and how few government representatives there are helping them. What many people need is a California loan modification attorney working with them, one on one, to keep their homes.

Housing counselors say they are disappointed by the progress made so far under the current Administration’s program, saying they are not getting anywhere near the results they were hoping for. They are saying the services are not up to par, which often means that there are not enough people answering phones for those who are calling. Sometimes, housing counselors have to educate the staff about their own programs, which means the government is not properly educating the people who were hired to help the public. In fact, Maeve Elise Brown of the Housing and Economic Rights Advocates said “Homeowners on their own are not able to navigate the system.”

All of this translates into homeowners needing an advocate who can take the time to listen to their needs, help them with their problem and be their advocate when no one else is helping them. A qualified loan modification attorney can walk you through all of the challenges and headaches that people are dealing with, whether you are considering a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy. A loan modification attorney can act on your behalf and aggressively fight for you, your family and your home.

Loan modifications can help you avoid foreclosure and stay in your home by renegotiating your mortgage terms to get your monthly payments much lower. This can be done by lowering your interest rate, getting a fixed rate instead of an adjustable interest rate, getting a principal reduction or some other option. A qualified California loan modification attorney will be able to effectively negotiate with banks and lenders, getting you the best terms possible for your loan modification. These are not easy times we live in, and everyone around you might be facing the most difficult financial circumstances anyone has faced in the last fifty years. However, with a loan modification attorney, you can rest assured that you have someone working on your behalf to help you avoid the storm.

Visit us at http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425

Legal Disclaimer

The information contained herein is provided for general information and advertising purposes only and is not intended to convey a legal option nor legal advice for any particular case or situation. Nothing in this article shall create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing sent to this law office via e-mail shall constitute an attorney-client relationship. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to be a guarantee or prediction of result. Prior results are provided for general information purposes only and do not guaranty, warranty or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Results achieved depend on individual circumstances and not everyone will qualify or be successful in restructuring their mortgage loan.

Author: Greg Feldman