The latest buzz in the home finance world is................. Mortgage Modification.

There's nothing wrong with trying to get your home loan modified so that it becomes more affordable - it's done every day and it really can help out a lot of people.

BUT...

Did you know that you can do the work yourself?

That's right, you don't need to pay someone thousands of dollars to get your mortgage modified - what you need to do is call your lender and discuss your situation directly with them.

There's no guarantee that they will be able to do exactly what you want, but all it takes is a phone call to get the ball rolling.

The only time I would suggest having someone do the work for you is if you have absolutely no extra time to do the work yourself - then you are basically paying for someone to do a bunch of annoying phone / paperwork.  

If you do decide to go that route, just make sure that you run screaming in the other direction if someone even hints about an upfront charge.

Another thing you want to avoid is a self-titled 'Mortgage Modification Expert' - trust me, there aren't any!  The program just started.

I don't know why the mortgage industry keeps spawning more and more garbage, but the flow seems to be endless!