FedMod Provides Homeowners Loan Modification Advice
For many people who are trapped in an adjustable rate mortgage or have fallen behind on their mortgage, finding the right loan modifications program may help with getting caught up on late payments, or in extreme cases halt a foreclosure. To find the best loan modifications programs, an in depth online search will list the highest rated financial service companies and home equity lenders that offer this program and additional help for homeowners in dire need. Start the search by entering your city and state online and click on the first ten websites that are returned in your search.
The financial service companies and home equity lenders that have loan modification programs will have expert consultants that are available to provide guidance based on the information you provide them. It’s important that you pick a financial service company that has extensive knowledge about the housing market in your area. That allows for them to be able to deal with the local lenders in your area and work to break the stranglehold of lenders who refuse to negotiate or attempt to rework the terms of your first or second mortgage.
Some of the benefits of signing on to loan modifications include being able to get lower mortgage payments without having to refinance. There is also the most important benefit which is lowering your interest rate and taking you out of an adjustable to fixed rate mortgage. One of the additional options can include waiving late fees, provided you make payments on time over a certain period of time. The goal of many financial service companies and home equity lenders is for whole communities to get on board and raise the price value of homes all across neighborhoods in their community.
The most experienced financial service companies and home equity lenders who provide loan modifications programs will allow you to search on their website without obligating you to join and sign on to their company. You can request as much information you need before making a decision. In general, all personal information you enter online is protected on secure websites that won’t compromise your identity. You should start with getting free consultations from more than one company and then make your final decision. This is a great way for many people to get a fresh start and keep their homes.
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I found this interesting article about whether or not you need a lawyer during the loan modification process. I know you can do it on your own, but since it requires so much paperwork and lots of legal jargon, maybe it is a good idea. Here is an excerpt from the article I came across on neribu
“When considering a loan modification, homeowners have several choices available for processing the modification. You can do it yourself, use a company that specializes in modifying loans, or use a loan modification attorney. There are pros and cons to each of these choices like any other situation in life, and it is best to understand these three options so you can make an informed decision that best fits your needs.”
Anyone reading this ever try it on there own? Would love to hear about it.
The Obama loan modification program that will bring $75 billion for homeowners who are facing foreclosure is said to be able to help a lot of homeowners.
Specifically, the plan is slated to help 3 to 4 million homeowners, and the $75 billion will go directly to homeowners to help them with avoiding foreclosure through loan modifications. Loan modifications or mortgage modifications allow homeowners to drastically reduce their interest rate, drop their principal, and even halt foreclosure proceedings.
The $75 billion in this Obama Federal Loan Modification Plan, the money is being used to lower mortgage interest rates to 3-4% and even in some cases as low as 2%.
For the homeowners to be eligible for a 2% loan modification rate, their total income needs to be equal to 31% of the mortgage price, so this is only for extreme cases where homeowners have either 1) lost their jobs 2) seen a huge increase in interest rates or 3) have a very expensive home.
For homeowners who live in California, Florida, and Washington DC even modest homes were selling for $1 million so it’s easy for homeowners to get upside down in their mortgage and need help through a loan modification.
For a free consultation with one of our specialists, please click on the contact us link.
For homeowners seeking immediate relief from the new Obama Help For Homeowners and Make Home Affordable act, there is an opportunity for homeowners to receive a loan modification and receive 2% mortgage rates, enabling homeowners to drop their monthly payments by up to $1,000 and save their homes from foreclosure.
The housing crisis is an epidemic, and homeowners need immediate relief otherwise they will lose their home. To receive immediate assistance, please call us at 352 514 5927.
For homeowners inquiring about Obama’s loan modification programs, and the eligibility requirements, please read below.
The banks will be offered incentives to encourage them to modify homeowners mortgages.
The banks will lower mortgage payments to be equal to 38% of a borrower’s income, and then the Treasury department will match the interest rate deductions down to 31% of a household income.
This, combined with 2% mortgage rates should allow homeowners to avoid foreclosure, and save their homes.
It’s urgent that you seek help on your impending foreclosure as quickly as possible, please call us at 352 514 5927 for free counseling to help save you and your family from mortgage foreclosure.
New legislation has been proposed that would provide a safe harbor for mortgage services who engage in specified mortgage loan modifications.
Many mortgage loan servicers have the opportunity to modify the mortgage rates of borrowers facing foreclosure, but could be discouraged from doing so for fear of lawsuits.
With the power to modify mortgage rates, it gives lenders more control in fixing the foreclosure problem facing Florida and the rest of the country.
Previously, lenders were afraid to adjust mortgage rates because it meant that the entire loan was being refinanced, and thus left the lender in a position where the entire amount would not be honored and homeowners would simply walk away from their homes.
This regulation will give banks the security to know that they can help homeowners more quickly, and for homeowners, the banks will be able to reduce mortgage rates in addition to just extending the length of mortgages, making loan modifications much more viable solution long-term.
This bill expands on Rep. Castle’s loan modification bill, which was included in final passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. H.R. 788 offers safe harbor liability protection to anyone who engages in loan modification regardless of the original service agreements as long as these servicers act in a manner consistent with the Homeowner Emergency Relief Act.
This expansion also requires servicers who engage in modification to report these activities to Treasury. H.R. 788 now awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives.
State attorney generals of 21 states are pushing Congress to amend bankruptcy laws to help homeowners prevent foreclosures.
The Attorneys General note in their letter that despite the best efforts of state and federal government regulators to engage servicers in voluntary loan modifications to avoid unnecessary foreclosures, further action to spur meaningful modifications must be taken.
Under the amendment supported by the Attorneys General, losses and benefits would be shared between homeowners and investors. If a federal Bankruptcy Court ordered a loan modification, the homeowner would be required to pay the loan based on the current secured value and the mortgage holder may be required to absorb the unsecured portion of the debt, which exceeds the value of the home.
Homeowners with regular income will retain their home while paying a sustainable mortgage. The mortgage holder receives a steady stream of income, while avoiding the losses and expenses incident to a foreclosure sale. Communities benefit from avoiding the blight of foreclosed properties and deteriorating neighborhoods.
Read the full article.
Freddie Mac (FRE: 0.52 -7.14%) said Tuesday that it is piloting a third-party servicing program for Alt-A and other at-risk nonperforming mortgages, called the Workout Strategy for High Risk Loans, that will see Freddie place certain loans with special servicers in an effort to implement more aggressive loss mitigation strategies.
The move comes as some traditional mortgage servicers have run into problems quickly and completely implementing the recently-announced streamlined modification program, sources at various key banks have suggested to HousingWire.
The streamlined modification program (SMP), announced on Nov. 11 of last year, is aimed at borrowers who have missed three payments or more, own and occupy their primary residence, and have not filed for bankruptcy.
Under the new pilot, a selected portfolio of higher risk mortgages that are at least 60 days delinquent will be given to a specialty servicer for what the GSE characterized as “intensive attention,†including the use of the streamlined modification program.
Ocwen Financial Corporation (OCN: 9.19 -0.54%) is one of the servicers Freddie Mac has selected for the pilot, the GSE said; the subprime servicer has made headlines in recent months for comparatively heavy loan modification activity among the loans it services. Ocwen will deploy teams of specially trained counselors to handle Freddie Mac’s delinquent high risk mortgages in order to minimize telephone wait times, put borrowers in touch with live counselors faster, and implement the latest Freddie Mac foreclosure reduction policies more quickly, according to a press statement.
Citigroup is going to be expanded their FDIC Loan Modification Program after pressure from the FDIC. The current Citigroup loan modification program was not doing enough to curb foreclosures and help real homeowners.
Previously, the loan modification program offered by Citigroup was limited only to homeowners who were 60 days past due, but now with the new FDIC pressure, Citigroup is going to be using the government’s “mod-in-a-box” program with all homes, regardless if they are past due, which should increase the likelihood of foreclosure by tremendous amounts.
The article says:
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair insisted on Citigroup’s cooperation last November, when the bank sought $20 billion of bailout funds and $301 billion of asset guarantees on top of an earlier $25 billion infusion. President Barack Obama wants more- aggressive efforts to stem foreclosures, and may force banks to increase lending when they take government money.
“They seem to just try to coerce the industry into†the loan-modification program, said David Watts, a strategist at analysis firm CreditSights Inc. “They’re saying, ‘We want you to do this program, and we’re going to make sure you do it by helping you, possibly with money and possibly with a big fat stick.’â€
Citigroup, which lost a record $18.7 billion last year, is under pressure to cut costs now that it has to pay $3.41 billion a year in dividends on the government’s preferred stake. The bank had to reduce its common-stock dividend to 1 cent from 16 cents as a condition of the second infusion. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit in January announced a plan to overhaul the bank by splitting off insurance and consumer-finance businesses.
Hopefully with this new plan, the goal is to stabilize the housing market and prevent future foreclosures from taking place.
he housing-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were put under government control last September, are deploying methods similar to the FDIC’s program. Last week, the Federal Reserve adopted a “homeowner preservation policy†for mortgages acquired in the rescues of Bear Stearns Cos. and American International Group Inc.
In November, after a week in which Citigroup’s stock price plunged 60 percent, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke agreed to provide a second round of bailout funds to the bank.
Bair initially withheld her approval for the deal, demanding that Citigroup agree to implement her agency’s mortgage- modification program.
You may be considering doing a loan modification on your own, and are wondering exactly how difficult it is to conduct a loan modification by yourself.
First, let’s explore exactly what the benefits of a loan modification are:
1. You can stay in your home, by reducing your monthly payments
2. You can possibly have a reduction in principal through payment forgivenance from payments you may have missed
3. You can restructure your loan. Changing your loan from an ARM to a fixed-rate
4. You can preserve your equity in your home by avoiding default and foreclosure
So how difficult is a loan modification?
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After reading about a number of cases where the bank, specifically Countrywide/Bank of America has promised homeowners a loan modification, and then withdrawing that offer, homeowners are left behind on their mortgage payments, and facing foreclosure.
For those of you who have been “misled” by the banks during the loan modification process, here is an example situation of how to help yourself.
There’s a big difference between “incorrect information” and flat out lying.
If you have any documentation with the bank, representatives you spoke with, etc. you need to get documented evidence that they lied to you. Depending on what they told you, you may have a court case on your hands, beyond simply a loan modification.
If I were you, I would call as many real estate lawyers, that deal specifically with loan modification, mortgage fraud, etc. and try to find someone to pickup your case pro-bono, where he’ll only get paid if he’s able to win the case for you.
Since you are unemployed, you need to make this your full-time job. Read as much as you can about the process online, and become a loan modification expert.
Typically I would suggest people look to a loan mod specialist, but if you don’t have a job, you can’t afford to pay someone, you need to dedicate yourself to helping yourself through this process.
The best advice for anyone looking for a loan modification in Florida is to start picking up the phone and calling.
If you are with a specific bank or lender, you should call up your bank and see if they can help you with the loan modification process. Most likely they will be unwilling to help you until you are behind on your mortgage payments.
This is a horrible situation to be in, so it’s essential that you start working before you go behind on your mortgage to find someone who can help you with the loan modification process.
Lenders ALWAYS give homeowners a runaround, saying they can help and they dont do anything. Even though the bank won’t do anything for you, loan modification specialists can.
You can go this route on your own as well, by collecting the necessary documentation, preparing your DTI ratio, and start getting to work.
Either way, good luck in this process, it’s a long and tough process that can take upwards of 60 days.
If you are considering a loan modification, but have some questions about doing it yourself or hiring a professional, please use this guide as a resource.
Loan modification specialists are typically mortgage brokers that have a thorough understanding of the legal process, and rights afforded to homeowners. Also, they are typically licensed with the State, giving you recourse if you come across a fraudulent individual.
A lot of homeowners are facing desperate times due to the housing crisis, and foreclosure seems like the only option.
In response, there has been a huge response in the mortgage industry to start practicing loan modifications. A loan modification is a process of reducing a monthly payment, so that a homeowner can keep paying their mortgage and stay in their home.
There are a lot of quality loan modification providers out there, but there are a lot of scammers too, and looking at a recent CNBC article below, they highlight just exactly what to look for in the real companies, and the scammers.
Loan modification is becoming an increasingly more common tool used for homeowners trying to fight foreclosure.
Since 2006, nearly 2.4 million homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure, and that number is expected to climb to six million before the bust is over.
First to succumb were the investor flippers, who turned their keys in to their lenders to cut their losses. Next came the below-prime adjustable-rate-mortgage borrowers, whose interest rates jumped to unaffordable levels.
Now the foreclosure bug is infecting the 12 million homeowners who are “underwater” because they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth — a group that includes prime borrowers who had top-notch credit.
It’s a little known fact that homeowners who need a loan modification can complete the process themselves, without hiring an agency or financial professional.
All of the paperwork, and documentation can be obtained from the FDIC.gov and other related websites. We’ve put together a quick and dirty list of steps you need to take to process your own loan modification application.
Be warned, however, this is a complex legal process, and just as you would hire an attorney to defend you in court, a loan modification specialist provides you the same advantages.
1. Gather all of your documents
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