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How much do you know about Loan Modifications?

By
Mortgage and Lending with Academy Mortgage Corporation

Property Research Specialists is owned and operated by Tony Brown and Karma Simons. We offer a free discreet professional consultation to homeowners who may be eligible for Loan Modification.  We are not  marketing specialists, but rather Mortgage Professionals; the members of our firm have over 60 years of industry experience. 

In today's mortgage crisis, loan modifications are one major key to slowing the downward spiral of loss.  This crisis has gone far beyond just the rate and terms of a mortgage loan.  Adjusting rates, home values dropping, unemployment and the economy in general are only a few scenarios causing hardships.  Where will it end?  Tough new loan guidelines can prevent many borrowers from refinancing and puts their hard earned equity in jeopardy.  Most lenders entertain the idea of loan modifications as the preferred solution to having the home foreclosed upon.

As a general rule, we do not challenge the compliance of the loan's origination. We work to get our clients a payment that they can afford - reducing their monthly expense to a level that will allow them and their family to stay in their home while cutting the losses for their lender as well.

I would like to address the enormous fees many companies are charging to do Loan Modifications.  Many use the premise that they have attorneys on staff.  Well, I ask you - if it did not take an attorney to buy your home (which is the case in the Pacific Northwest where we are located), why would it take an attorney to negotiate a change in one or more terms of your loan?  Although Loan Modifications require certain skills and due diligence on behalf of the negotiator, it is still much easier than origination. We charge $1500.00.   In our opinion, because there is no credit report or special software, we believe that there is no reason to charge more that that. We are here to help, not be an additional source to a problem.  We are not getting rich doing this but we share the belief that we are doing our part to save the economy and preserve the value of our homes.

Our industry has become fertile ground for companies that do not share our high standards and ethics.  It is important that you thoroughly investigate any company you are considering using or referring your clients to.

Homeowners can do this themselves.  Many borrowers have negotiated with their lender themselves but many have come to us to renegotiate for them.  In these cases, they were saddled with ineffective results that did not cure their issues and quite often were required to pay the lender upfront fees. We know what to expect and have more experience getting to the proper channels.  We also know what the lender needs in order to consider your request.  We also have a much higher success rate than homeowners have experienced when trying to accomplish this for themselves

We developed the program we use.  This program is designed to help put homeowners back on track. If their loan was a Pay Option ARM or other ARM loan that has or is about to 'reset' or they have a high interest rate and cannot afford their payments for reasons beyond their control they may qualify. They do not have to be in arrears to request having their loan modified.  They do not always have to have a hardship.  We have one lender who will modify an adjustable rate within 90 days of the adjustment date based on the current rate at that time (saving them the costs of a refinance). Loan Modification is not an alternative to refinancing but a sincere rescue program to help homeowners stay in their homes. Any ‘distressed' homeowner or anyone with the potential to become a distressed homeowner who wants to keep their home should seek immediate assistance to find out if a loan modification can stop the loss or potential loss.  We are all about home retention and any situation that threatens or has the potential to endanger ownership is worth a consultation.  Homeowners should not be afraid to ask for help before they reach a default situation.  Most lenders do not require a borrower to be behind in their mortgage to apply for a modification.

We offer a money back performance guarantee. Our guarantee is based on the resolution fitting with the income and expense criteria presented by the borrower.

We have been 98% successful in the modifications we have submitted.  One of our two owners, Karma, likes to say the 2% was our learning curve.  Regardless, the continuing crisis will continue to change the guidelines adopted by the individual lenders.  We therefore cannot guarantee the results and the result may vary. We here at PRS really hate to lose.

For more information contact Wendy @ wendy@propertyresearchspecialists.com