The Making Home Affordable Plan Helps You Save Your Home

The new Making Home Affordable plan was put into effect March, 2009. Under this plan, the Obama administration is providing $75 billion to lenders to help homeowners like you. There are two parts to the initiative. First, it relaxes refinancing requirements so that as many as 5 million homeowners will be able to modify their loan. Second, it provides new incentives that will make it more attractive for your lender to work with you to modify your loan now!

So, what is a loan modification? It is the best available option for you and your family to save your home and stop foreclosure. It involves close work with your lender and with the assistance of a loan modification specialist.

A loan modification is not a new mortgage and you are not going to get yourself deeper in debt. You will actually just be making your current loan fit into your current financial situation.

A loan modification will make various changes to your mortgage. Through the process you can get a lower interest rate or change the type of interest rate you have. You may get the length of the loan extended. You could have fees or other penalties waived and possibly have a second mortgage erased altogether. Your lender may even offer you more benefits if you choose to do a loan modification.

The reason that you may be facing foreclosure could be due to financial complications. You may have lost your job or had a pay decrease. With a loan modification you could see your monthly payments get lowered which would make it much more affordable. The exact terms of your loan modification depends upon you and your lender, but as you can see it can provide a lot of benefits for you.

There are many different ways a loan modification can be set up. You should have help in working with lender, and a loan modification specialist can help you with this. You will get advice from someone who knows the industry and who is used to working with lenders on loan modifications.

It can be difficult when you are facing foreclosure and it can cause a lot of stress. The best way to stop foreclosure is to get to work as soon as possible. You have to keep in contact with your lender and do what you can to prevent your mortgage debt from getting out of control. Don't lose your home. Click below to find loan a modification specialist today.

Loan Modification Made Easy  With the Making Home Affordable Plan

Mortgage loan modification is just what it sounds like: adjusting the terms of a loan in some way. It's really up to lenders to decide if and how they want to modify any given loan. They may follow a more or less standard procedure, but most modifications are done on a case-by-case basis. If you're looking to get a loan modification, use a loan modification specialist to talk to your lender about it. Just be cautious and make sure that your modification will offer solutions to your financial difficulties. A modification that doesn't lower your monthly payment, for example, won't help you at all.

Loan modifications in the past have not been wildly successful because of the lack of any standard set of guidelines to govern them. For this reason, the President created the new Making Home Affordable plan. From now through 2012, U.S. homeowners with a monthly mortgage payment above 31% of their gross monthly income can get loan modifications that lower their monthly payments to affordable rates.

Naturally, there are a few extra criteria that eligible homeowners must meet. Only people who personally occupy the home with the loan they want modified are eligible. The loan to be modified must also be back by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and it must have been issued before 2009.

What's so great about obtaining a mortgage loan modification with the Making Home Affordable plan? Part of the plan is an initiative known as the Homeowner Stability Initiative. The money in this initiative is for paying incentive payments to lenders and borrowers when they hash out loan modifications and make successful payments on modified loans. Lenders get $1,000 for every eligible loan modification, plus additional payments when the borrower stays current with a modified loan. And homeowners get $1,000 per year for up to 5 years when they make consistent on-time payments on a modified loan.

Even though you can seek loan modification through other avenues, the Making Home Affordable plan is the best way. It allows for incentive payments and provides lenders with a consistent set of steps for reducing monthly payments. First they must lower interest rates, then they may extend the term of the loan, and finally they can lower principal if they choose. The goal is to reach a monthly payment below 31% of the gross monthly income of the homeowner.

To start working today with a loan modification specialist on lowering your monthly mortgage and saving your home, click below.

Who Qualifies for a Mortgage Modification?

Do you qualify for a mortgage loan modification? And how do you get your lender to approve your loan modification request?

The question of "Who qualifies for mortgage loan modification?" isn't an easy one to answer. Each lender has his own set of qualifications to follow for approval. But there are some standard guidelines that most lenders follow when considering a homeowner for approval:

 Anyone who is attempting to get a loan  mortgage loan modification must be going through a period of financial hardship. This is when your overall debt is too much for you to handle.

  You must live on the land or in the home you are looking to reduce mortgage payments on in order for your lender to look at your application.

 You must have full documentation of your income for the past few months, if not the past year.  Full income documentation (including your income tax forms) shows the lender how your finances have gone over a period to determine whether you are a safe investment or not. Lenders decide who qualifies for mortgage loan modification based on how big of a risk a homeowner is. You must also show intent and any proof of your plans to get out of your financial downtime.

There are also several more variables depending on your lender that will affect whether you're qualified for mortgage loan modification. Before applying, ask your loan modification specialist what the exact qualifications are. If you find out that you are close to eligible but not quite, see what your loan modification professional can do for you.

To find a loan modification specialist who can help you qualify for a mortgage loan modification, click below.

What is Foreclosure? 

Mortgage foreclosure is the process a bank or mortgage company uses to take back ownership of real estate when the homeowner hasn't complied with the mortgage agreement. Most often, that simply means that the homeowner couldn't keep up the mortgage payments.

The foreclosure process may differ depending upon your state. Generally, the downward spiral into foreclosure begins when your loan payment becomes 16 days overdue. At that point, your mortgage lender may try to contact you to work out a repayment schedule to bring your loan current. If your mortgage payment becomes 30 days late and the next month's payment looks suspect, the collection calls will come on a regular basis. If your payments fall 90 days behind, the mortgage company will likely refer your mortgage to an attorney that will start formal foreclosure proceedings.

Again, the foreclosure process varies by state, and the best source of information about how the foreclosure process might proceed in your case is a local attorney. Generally, the lender must serve a notice of default on the homeowner after a certain time period from when the payment becomes past due. This time period varies by state. The notice will give the homeowner a time period and an amount necessary to be paid in order to "cure" the default and avoid foreclosure.

If the homeowners cannot pay the delinquency and costs of foreclosure within this time, then the lender will set a foreclosure sale date. The lender will then sell the property at public auction. If the sale price isn't enough to cover the outstanding debt and costs associated with the sale, the mortgage lender can and probably will pursue a deficiency judgment-a court order requiring you to pay the remaining balance to the lender.

The property may be "redeemed" by the homeowner by paying all delinquencies and costs, up to the time of sale and in some states, for a period after sale. This redemption period varies by state. The law in most states gives the homeowner every opportunity to stop the foreclosure process. As a matter of fact, homeowners have options right up to the minute that the auctioneer's gavel comes down.

Some of the most common options include refinancing to roll in past-due payments and "start fresh" with your mortgage debt, a debt workout plan, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Refinancing is usually not an option since mortgage companies will generally not lend to someone that is currently delinquent on their mortgage payments. Many people facing foreclosure find that Chapter 13 bankruptcy removes the immediate threat of foreclosure and allows them to catch up past due mortgage payments over time.

If you're facing foreclosure and want assistance from a loan modification specialist, click below.

Know Your Foreclosure Options

Most people facing foreclosure are most concerned about saving their homes. If your primary goal is to stop foreclosure in order to keep your house, then you'll most likely want to consider services which usually result in a restructuring of your current delinquency. Other options may include refinancing or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. However, if you know that you can't afford to keep your house and you are looking for a way to avoid a deficiency judgment and minimize damage to your credit, other options to stop foreclosure are available.

Facing mortgage foreclosure is scary, and it can be hard to make informed decisions to stop foreclosure when under pressure. Make sure that you understand all of your options to stop foreclosure, which may include:

• Mortgage Loan Modification
• Turning over the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure;
• Selling the Property; and
• Surrendering the Property in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Learn more about these options to stop foreclosure, and be sure to carefully consider which is best for you and your family.
 

Mortgage Loan Modification

Under the Making Home Affordable plan put in place by President Obama, you may be able to work with a loan modification specialist and your lender to reduce your monthly mortgage. If your situation was caused by a one-time event like illness, loss of job or other financial problem, this may be your best option.

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure

If you're sure that you can't afford to keep your house, you may be able to reach an agreement with the mortgage holder whereby you simply give it back and stop foreclosure. The mortgage holder would agree to accept the deed as full settlement and cancel the remainder of your debt.

Whether or not this is a good option to stop foreclosure for you depends upon your equity in the house, the amount of outstanding debt, and what other options are available to you. Of course, the mortgage holder won't always be willing to enter into such an agreement, but if there is little likelihood that you'll be able to pay a deficiency judgment, the lender may decide that it's better to avoid the costs of a foreclosure proceeding, stop foreclosure and accept the deed as full settlement.

Sell the Property to Stop Foreclosure

If you have significant equity in your house, selling it is a good option because it may allow you to stop foreclosure and walk away with money in your pocket. Where equity is limited (or non-existent), it can be difficult to sell the property because of the need to cover the mortgage and the other associated costs of a sale. This is especially true if you're working with a realtor, since you'll have to cover a commission as well.

In some cases, the mortgage holder may agree to a short sale. That means the lender will agree to accept less than the full amount of the mortgage. This allows you to stop foreclosure and avoid a deficiency judgment, while the lender recovers the bulk of the amount due without having to pursue foreclosure proceedings.

Surrender the Property in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy & Stop Foreclosure

Unlike Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not provide a means to save your house from foreclosure. The automatic stay entered in most bankruptcy cases will stop foreclosure proceedings, but the Chapter 7 process does not provide a mechanism by which you can catch up on your past-due payments and keep your home.

However, if you've been unable to work out an alternative and you know that you cannot afford to keep your house, Chapter 7 bankruptcy has some advantages. First, the automatic stay will temporarily stop foreclosure proceedings, giving you time to make necessary arrangements. Second, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will eliminate most of your unsecured debt (credit card debt, outstanding medical bills, etc.), so that you may be more able to meet your regular living expenses. Finally-and perhaps most importantly-Chapter 7 bankruptcy can eliminate any deficiency judgment, so that you don't end up losing your house and still making payments to the lender.

If you want to avoid foreclosure and ensure that you and your family keep your home by working with a loan modification specialist, click below.

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