About 18 months ago I started hearing the term loan modification.  Being a Mortgage Agents, who had suffered due to the sub-prime mortgage debacle.  I was looking for a way to utilize my experience, and rebuild my income.  I sat on several webinars, where the speaker spoke of the abundance of “Riches” in this new and growing industry.  One company wanted me to pay $ 3,000.00 to learn how to be a “Loss Mitigation Specialist”.  Another wanted $ 1995.00, and yet another wanted $ 995.00 and nearly $ 400.00 per month for my supposed training and marketing website.  I steered clear of those companies and decided to start doing my own research.

 My research led to another 20 Loan modification companies that did not charge a fee to get involved.  I found one that sounded good and decided to start submitting deals to them.  I sent 3 deals in to them, however they had absolutely no customer service.  Upon submission I started calling my Account Executive to see if they had been approved.  I finally got back in touch with her 2 weeks later, only to be told   “oh they look fine now have the client make a check out to your company and then send us in our portion”.  That took me a bit off guard…as If anything with the loan mod got messed up, my companies name was on the clients check.  Not the kind of liability that I was looking for in this new found venture.

 So I continued my search and found a company that had many of the right answers for me. Believe it or not, but a GOOD Loan modification company can be worth their weight in gold to a homeowner facing foreclosure.  Problem is that 90% of the companies offering these services were Scams, Unethical or just uneducated in the area of Loan Modification.  I became a 1099 contractor with them and even built a team of brokers.  We had some very good success early on and had some successful modifications done. I even had some brokers submitting as many as 5 or more modifications per month. That is until the owner of the company got greedy and started brokering out the work to a  sub-par company.  We started getting lots of complaints from clients who had yet to hear  from a litigator after submitting their application and Fees..  Again I resumed my search and to my amazement, I found a company that appears to be doing all the right things.  They are one of the Few Loan Modification Companies still in Business in California after the Passage of Senate Bill-94.

 California Loan Modification companies are dropping like flies, however some companies are still taking on clients for residential loan modification, but the list is getting shorter each day. Between the fraudulent companies, incorrect stories in the media, and the dishonest borrower looking for hand outs.  What I mean by that is borrowers who get a satisfactory modification, and then have the gaul to ask for a refund because the Government states that they could have done the same thing for free. One company I have found is building a business model that will both benefit brokers, clients and protect themselves against frivolous lawsuits and complaints. They have succeeded in complying with every piece of legislation in California to remain in good standing with the DRE, Attorney General and even the Federal Trade Commission.  My list has now grown to nearly 295 Loan Modification Companies, representing well over 100 hours of research. The fact is that Loan Modifications can still be a great way to created added income for a displaced mortgage broker or realtor.  However it can be a nightmare for both you and your clients if you get associated with a bad loan modification company, just out to line their pockets. Because of the bad press, and regulations concerning residential modifications, I have actually moved into focusing on doing commercial modifications.  I have aligned myself with one of the top Attorney's in this area of Law in California, and his resume' is impressive.  Here are some bulletpoints of why I have moved to Commercial Mods

1. Currently there are at least $ 750 billion dollars in commercial loans initiated between 2005 and 2007 with a 5 year due date

2. Nearly $ 73 million worth of commercial real estate loans are in some level of financial distress

3. Credit Markets Remain Frozen

4. Slashing Rents, Incentive offerings, Demanding Concessions.

5.  Delinquency rates and defaults on office and retail buildings and hotels have more than doubled in just six months

6.The losses from commercial real estate loans could hit $ 53 billion, or 8.5 percent of their overall losses over the next two years.

7. Empty Storefronts, Office Buildings and Warehouse Space are great lead sources

8. No advance fee restrictions, unlike residential modifications, in fact way fewer restrictions overall

9. Our company modifies loans on a Nationwide Basis

10. Unique program available to show clients how to recoup the cost of the modification services

11. 5 to 10 times the income potential of Residential Modifications

These are just some of the reasons I am going to Concentrate on Commercial Modifications.. And with our program we can show the owners of these office buildings how they can recoup the cost of the modification thru another program exclusive to our Commercial Mod program.

Please email me and I will be happy to send you a copy of my updated list and the reason I created it.  I am actually looking for serious brokers looking to supplement their income doing Commercial Modifications. I still represent an ethical company for residential modifications, but that is no longer my main focus.

For Brokers Commercial Loan modifications is going to be much larger deal than residential, as the demand will be higher over the next 2 years and there are no rules about up front fees.  If you would like information on referring commercial loan modifications, email me and I will send you information on the Law Firm we are using.  If you would like an updated spreadhseet of the 290+ Loan modification companies I researched to see the extent I have taken to make sure I am representing a good company, I will be happy to send it to you.  I can say that at least 90% of my list are of companies that have been shut down or are no longer in business.  I am creating the same type of list for Commercial Modification companies, as there is fraud in that business as well.  The main thing is that Commercial modifications can be a great way to supplement a real estate professionals income, as unlike residential there is more involved and the referral broker can get paid for doing very little work other than filling out a prequalification sheet for the client.

Due to the overwelming response to my blog, please email requests rather than calling.  The more detailed requests for information via email will be the one answered first.  We will call those that seem to have a genuine interest in getting involved in Commercial Modifications.   I will accpet calls, however due to time I can be more efficient if you email me first.

Thomas Hargreaves

agentshelper@gmail.com

Phone: 541-844-1830   or phone  541-603-0902