Just Watched Amusing T.V. Ad for Loan Mod's - FYI, Always read the Fine print

I am glad that Tom took the time to write this article.  I personally did my own credit card and loan modification.  It has taken me a year and for the most part, I am satisfied with my results but the effort and anxiety was exhausting!  My background is mortgage loan systems marketing and active in the industry so I have a great background.  I still made errors and could have done better if I had done some of the work differently.  I consider myself competent at loan modification but I wouldn't do it alone or for anyone myself.  I certainly know that I can help guide others.  If you have missed payments and you're sitting there frightened, frozen, embarassed and uninformed, you are among at least 4 million in your situation.  Due to your emotional reaction to your plight, don't try this yourself and don't wait until you get the "Notice of Default" via certified mail.  The first letter is not usually this letter though these are often sent certified.  The lenders have their game together and change their ways and means constantly.  The law is new and all of this changes dynamically.  Waiting will hurt you because this process takes an average of 5 to 8 weeks with most firms.  Most of what you'll get on your own with the lender is just payment postponement or payment shuffling.  I have checked out several loan modification companies and the one I that I would recommend just received the only approval by the California Department of Real Estate here in San Diego.  There's only about a dozen in CA.  Email me if you need help, I'll give you more about what I went through and can help you reduce or eliminate your fear and quite possibly save your home as I did.  I doubt that anyone performing loan modification actually did it themselves like I did, or knows how to evaluate the companies beginning to advertise this service.  These companies all charge a fee.  The one I know has a 98% rate of success, has been doing this for years not weeks, has saved hundreds of homes, has attorneys on staff, is diplomatic with your lenders instead of threatening legal action, and best of all has a money back guarantee and can prequalify you situation for free.  The company is comprised of many mortgage loan underwriters and has negotiated all loan types with key loan loss mitigators with almost all lenders.  Anyhow, you have my email.  Be ready for the truth.  I'll try to help. Tom's advice is good. ~ Dan

Thanks for your post to my blog Dan.  Interestingly, I recently had a loan mod client(referred to me by past customer) who was calling me almost daily, he's not in arrears just yet, but right on the cusp. As you said the laws are constantly changing and my interpretation was that as of Oct. 1st, a loan mod. client did not have to be behind yet?  This guy came referred as I said, and most referrals do not require too much "selling", but this guy was already in panic mode and picking my brain almost daily.  To keep it shorter, the crux of this is; The guy supposedly filled out my 14 page consulting agreement, etc. then everything came to a dead stop.  After 24 years I've learned to ask the right questions and know when the client isn't being forthright.  I think he is going to try and do his Mod. on his own??  So, I am going to email him what you wrote about the trials and tribulations of going down that path - And You're in the Business!  I've strongly advised him against "performing his own surgery", but these folks are Out of money and cannot think clearly! You wrote a testimonial of sorts for me, so again I wanted to thank you!

Paying someone to do a loan mod is not very smart, when you can contact a free counseling services from HUD or NeighborWorks. To say that any company has a 98% approval rate is also not very credible. Lawyers are good about law, but do not specialize in knowing loss mitigation rules, procedures and methods. Every loan out there can't be saved. A housing counselor can probably tell you after a loan interview if there is a probable solution that allows you to keep your home. Here are some rules to keep in mind: Most lenders have either a loss mitigation dept, or a home retention dept that would be able to help you if you are at least 2 months behind. Help can be either temporary, ie a repayment plan, or a forebearance plan. This happens sometimes with the collections dept or customer service. The rule of thumb is that you can barely afford the home when your income comes back to normal. Therefore the assistance is limited because your income is not going to help you keep the home long term. Help can be permanent, ie, a partial claim or a loan modification. Most of the time this option is only used if the lender determines that you can with some changes keep your home long term with minimal cost to the lender. What a borrower needs to show is the ability to create or generate income sufficient to pay the mortgage. Most modifications are done over the phone with stated income. A housing counselor can design a budget to allow you to keep the home, and make other changes such a filling a chapter 7 or chapter 13 on your non-secured debt. You have the right to ask who is the investor on the loan. Example, Option One services a lot of loans for Bank of New York, who will modify your mortgage to a 30 year loan with a 4% interest rate no questions or harship proof needed.

Thanks, Housing Counselor for your response.  I originated this blog post, but have no stats on the success ratio of All Loan Mod Consultants and Attorneys as a whole?  That 98% stat was posted by Dan D.  What I do know after 24 years in the mortgage and real estate business is, I would Never try and do my own root canal or appendectomy.  I would get professional help for these ailments and problems.  Just the same as both Dan and I recommend to Most home owners that (while it is their perogative) an optimal outcome achieved by doing one's own Loan Mod, is not as likely as if they use the services of an ethical and reputable consultant and licensed firm.  What's that old adage; a person who represents themselves in their own defense in a legal matter (or saving their home) has a fool for a client!  Let me also clarify that I do think the government agencies like the one you obviously represent serve a very useful purpose to help assist and educate the home owner to Avoid future pitfalls.  Keep up the great work and thanks for your post, love to hear the feedback and get dialogue going about this tricky and still mostly uncharted territory that will eventually Also need regulation and reform in the coming months or years!

Loan modification is a process whereby a home owner's mortgage is modified and both the lender and homeowner are bound by the new terms of the new mortgage. The most common loan modifications are listed below: lowering the mortgage interest rate reducing the mortgage principal balance fixing adjustable interest rates within the mortgage increasing the loan term throughout the mortgage forgiveness of payment defaults and fees or any combination of the above A loan modification is a permanent change in one or more of the terms of a mortgagor's loan, it allows the mortgage loan to be reinstated and results in a payment the mortgagor can afford. Check out our Public site at http://LOANMODIFICATIONMORTGAGE.ORG

Beachdude,  are you an ActiveRain member?  This post was written for others to be aware of some sneaky, unscrupulous mortgage co's and even attorneys, now jumping into the Loan Modification sector.  Don't be Sneaky too, by using my blog post as an Ad Flyer for your website.  I'd rather not block certain comments and would rather keep the dialog free-flowing, But it Is Not for the Purposes you are using it for.  Either write your own blogs (I'll look you up in a minute) or if you Have Something Worth While to say in Response, great. Otherwise I suggest you do direct mailings and stop piggy backing off others blogs for your own personal gain! 

Good call Tom.  Beachdude....go get some marketing materials!