Every newspaper, television news outlet and website has reported on loan modifications in one form or another. Some of this reporting has given false information, bad intelligence and an overall frustrating report of the current situation. Between the increased focus on the loan modification industry, President Obama’s FDIC loan modification plan and the countless bank reports on loan modification status, people are overwhelmed with all the information on loan modifications.
Since the real estate crisis began two or three years ago, homeowners have been fighting to get loan modifications from banks and lenders. These banks and lenders are becoming increasingly swamped with phone calls, e-mails and other communication. Many of these financial institutions were unprepared for the response to different loan modification programs. Some banks hired many staff members to field the phone calls, but few of these staff members truly understood the loan modification process. Now, homeowners throughout California and the rest of America are fighting to get loan modifications as a relief from their overwhelming mortgages.
The Los Angeles Times reported that banks are moving extremely slow in modifying people’s home loans. There are many reasons why the banks are moving so slow, and while many people might believe that banks are simply being greedy, the truth is more complex.
Banks understand that loan modifications are actually good for their bottom lines, especially in comparison to the damage a foreclosure can do. However, various financial, governmental and circumstantial challenges have interfered with banks’ ability to perform loan modifications.
At the Loan Modification Help Center, we do our best to supply homeowners with the kinds of information that will help them stay in their homes. If you find yourself in a perilous financial situation, such as receiving a foreclosure notice in the mail, then a California loan modification attorney might just be your best friend. California loan modification attorneys can walk you through the loan modification process, as well as discuss your specific situation and all of the options open to you. They can also inform you about such things as bankruptcies, short sales and other potential options which may not be in your best interest.
deep contraction in the economy and in the housing market has created devastating consequences for homeowners and communities throughout the country. Millions of responsible families who make their monthly payments and fulfill their obligations have seen their property values fall, and are now unable to refinance to lower mortgage rates. Meanwhile, millions of workers have lost their jobs or had their hours cut, and are now struggling to stay current on their mortgage payments. As a result, as many as 6 million families are expected to face foreclosure in the next several years, with millions more struggling to stay current on their payments.
The present crisis is real, but temporary. As home prices fall, demand for housing will increase, and conditions will ultimately find a new balance. Yet in the absence of decisive action, we risk an intensifying spiral in which lenders foreclose, pushing area home prices still lower, reducing the value of household savings, and making it harder for all families to refinance. In some studies, foreclosure on a home has been found to reduce the prices of nearby homes by as much as 9%.
The loan modification process all comes down to one thing, are you qualified. Can you get the lender to agree to proceed in granting you a loan process? The key to being accepted by the lender and gain access to this saving grace is to prove without a doubt that you are suffering from some type of hardship.
What is a Hardship?
A hardship is what can help you to achieve a loan modification and in turn save your home from plummeting into foreclosure. You must prove to the lender that you suffer from one of the below hardships in order to even apply for a loan modification. Here is a list of potential hardships that may give you a chance to take advantage of the loan modification process:
Foreclosure is a more common menace today with the economy on a decline. There is a way to receive help when you are in danger of foreclosure. Loan modification can help demonstrate to the lender that you want to save your home and help to work out some type of plan that will in turn resolve the dangers of foreclosure. There are many options regarding loan modification, and many of the loan modification programs and loan modification advice given at these programs will help you find the exact reason you may be eligible for this type of mortgage alteration. Lenders are willing to listen if you have a plan and are serious about saving your home.
In California many homeowners are stuck in upside down mortgages and want to know how to get a principal reduction with a bankruptcy attorney if they have a failed loan modification. While many seek principal reductions through loan modifications the truth is they’re few and far between. In Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties many home owners took out 2nd mortgages just to buy their home, let alone taking out HELOC’s to do home improvements and pay off credit card debt. Most of these 2nd mortgages are upside down, making them a perfect candidate for lien stripping through chapter 13 bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney can file a chapter 13 bankruptcy with a motion to avoid the lien and eliminate the 2nd or 3rd mortgage completely. Bankruptcy is a federal program and law unlike, loan modifications that may or not work. The majority of homeowners seeing a principal reduction through a loan modification are denied and many of them may eventually face foreclosure and fear losing their home. Bankruptcy chapter 13 can stop the foreclosure process and get someone a true principal reduction if they have a 2nd mortgage that’s upside down, making it unsecured. Most bankruptcy attorneys focus mainly on chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving chapter 13 bankruptcies for the bankruptcy experts. “If you really want a true principal reduction then stripping the lien will do just that” says bankruptcy attorney James D. Zhou, managing partner at Zhou & Chini. We see many homeowners in California being able to take advantage of bankruptcy chapter 13 with a motion to avoid the lien because so many people have under water 2nd mortgages. If a bankruptcy attorney really knows what he or she is doing then they can save someone allot of money with this type of principal reduction. Throughout California many homeowners were attracted to 80/20 mortgages where they could purchase a home for little to no money down. Unfortunately, most of the homes purchased during the real estate boom were 30% to 40% over valued. Government backed loan modifications just aren’t cutting it in California where the debt to income ratio doesn’t support the property values. Unless homeowners see principal reductions they might as well just walk away, and that’s what they’re doing! Typically, bankruptcy is the last resort for most people trying to save their home. However, with the ability to get a real principal reduction, eliminate their unsecured debt and save their home from foreclosure many homeowners is seeking the help of a bankruptcy attorney. Many homeowners have attempted loan modifications that failed; they are now so far behind in their mortgage payments and so upside down with their property value that this may be the only thing that makes sense for them.
The California real estate market is the “perfect storm” for homeowners to receive a principal reduction through bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney can help people see if they qualify for a principal reduction through bankruptcy chapter 13 with motions like (11 U.S.C. ' 522(a)) to strip a lien. Making mistakes when it comes to filing bankruptcy can be very costly, so be careful when selecting a bankruptcy attorney for a chapter 13. For a free and confidential consultation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney go to; www.zhouchinilaw.com or call the law offices of Zhou & Chini; 1-888-207-9026.
In the midst of the ongoing financial crisis, homeowners are looking for any way to ease their burdens, and the government has implemented several programs to help make it possible for borrowers to get the loan modifications they need from banks in order to keep their homes. However, statistics have recently emerged that indicate that the federal economic recovery plans currently in place in the United States are not doing enough to help minority populations cope with the myriad problems the financial crisis has created.
Despite a slight decrease in home foreclosures in the month of August, many Americans are struggling to save their homes. With no one to turn to, borrowers can find themselves overwhelmed by the complex, time-consuming process of modifying their loans. The simplest way of navigating the rough economic waters is to sit down with a California loan modification attorney. Skilled loan modification attorneys can provide homeowners with options to avoid foreclosure.
Recently released data states that one in every 357 U.S. households received foreclosure filings in August, making it the sixth straight month in which foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000. Figures released by RealtyTrac Inc. report scheduled auctions, default notices and bank seizures of 358,471 properties—a less than one percent decrease from August, and an 18 percent increase from the same month in 2008.
People find themselves in need of mortgage loan modification for a variety of reasons. For example, recent statistics show that the average family income has decreased over the last ten years, due in large part to the recent “Great Recession.” According to the Census Bureau’s annual report on income, poverty and health insurance, the average household income in 2008 was $50,303, down from $51,295 in 1998. This is the first full decade in the Census Bureau’s forty years of tracking U.S. household income in which the median failed to rise.
If you are interested in getting a loan modification then there is a good chance you are suffering from some serious financial problems. Most likely, there are a number of options available to you, including foreclosure, a short sale and other mortgage defaults. What many people are unaware of are the implications each of these will have on their credit rating. Pretty much any financial transaction you make will have some impact on your credit, either good or bad, and so people who are homeowners or looking to take out or adjust a loan, must pay special attention to these impacts.
One of the reasons a loan modification attorney is so important to the loan modification process is that there are a million details and subtle nuances involved throughout the process. For example, successfully filling out the loan modification application requires a great deal of understanding. Trying to fill out your loan modification application on your own can be even more complicated than filling out your taxes.
Here are some important tips and bits of information that will be helpful in filling out your loan modification application.
Over the last three years, banks have failed at an increasingly alarming rate. This year, more banks have failed in the first seven or eight months than in all of last year. Recently, the failure of a behemoth bank named “Colonial BancGroup” out of Alabama was shocking. The bank had tens of billions of dollars in assets, including quite a few billion dollars in mortgages. These sorts of challenges scare governments, banks, financial institutions and investors. The federal government has had to battle this fear by implementing stimulus programs, loan modification programs and other forms of aid to banks and consumers.
While the stimulus programs have come under fire, and people are protesting federal debt, banks are benefiting from the loan modificationsthey have been agreeing to. Loan modifications limit foreclosures by giving homeowners another way to stay in their homes.
If you need help understanding your option of taking advantage of thehome loan modification process, the help is available to you everywhere. The process is quite tricky and it is highly recommended that you do indeed seek legal advice before signing on the dotted line, in order receive the most efficient and cost-effective modification to your mortgage payment.
Where do I get Advice
There is advice all over the web on how to receive a loan modification; some of this advice is quite helpful, while some is quite dreadful. There is also the opportunity to hire a professional service that will help you go through the paperwork and work with the lender to help you get all the benefits that you deserve, due to a hardship.Loan modification is a process that must be understood completely and thoroughly. This article can actually offer you an insight on the process of loan modification and tips that will better help you as a homeowner save your home from the risk of a foreclosure.
Loan Modification Advice
First and foremost, it is important to determine if you are eligible for a loan modification. This requires writing a letter of hardship explaining to the lender what exactly the reason is for your late payments and the fact that you are unable to pay your mortgage. Doing a loan modification on your own requires more than just advice. Becoming educated about the process is more important. This is perhaps a good reason to hire a professional loan modification company to take part in the process. They will handle everything for you, while educating you in the progression. There is a fee charged for hiring these companies, but in turn your mortgage payment can be lowered quite a bit and professionals can even find things in your original loan papers that may prove that the lender may have broken the law during your original mortgage signing.
If you do choose to take the big leap of the loan modification process on your own, you must first contact the lender and they will lead you to the correct department, normally the loss mitigation department. You may not want to directly say that you are in the process foreclosure. We do not want the lender to think your situation is not worth their time before hearing you out. Always document anything relating to the loan modification process, every phone call and any other information you may receive during the process must be documented. Always discuss every option available with your lender, so that you may come up with the best alternative for you. It is true you will save money going directly through your lender and let’s face it, you are struggling already trying to make your payments, but professional assistance can help immensely.
No matter what direction you decide to take, loan modificationwill be what determines the amount of time you have in your home. If you are eligible you should act as soon as possible.