Mortgage Loan Blog » Loan Modification

Mortgages Loans :CCO Mortgage & Citizens Bank Loan Modification

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:49:34 +0000

CCO Mortgage (also known as Citizens Bank) provides a number of loan modification programs to help borrowers stop foreclosure and lower their payments. Additionally, Citizens Bank now participates in President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program.
Regardless of whether or not

=============
Article Content:
CCO Mortgage (also known as Citizens Bank) provides a number of loan modification programs to help borrowers stop foreclosure and lower their payments. Additionally, Citizens Bank now participates in President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program.

Regardless of whether or not you are current on your mortgage, if Citizens Bank is your lender, we most likely can qualify you for a loan modification. Actually, if you are behind on your mortgage, this may create even more of an incentive for Citizens Bank to modify your loan. If you are on time, getting a loan modification is still possible, and modifying now can avoid irrevocable damage to your credit.

How can this help you? Well, a loan modification can help you decrease your interest rate, payment, and possibly even the principal balance of the loan. An aggressive loan modification can help you keep your house, and in the process lower your payment by hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Let’s take a look at what exactly a loan modification is: A loan modification is an agreement between you (the borrower) and your lender (Citizens Bank) to lower your mortgage payments to an affordable level to help you avoid foreclosure. Citizens Bank has faced significant financial setbacks over the last two years due to the high number of foreclosures, and, as such is willing to work with qualified homeowners to lower their monthly payments and help them keep their homes.

When applying for a loan modification with Citizens Bank / CCO Mortgage, it’s important to remember that the primary basis of whether or not you will be approved for a loan modification is based on whether or not you are facing what Citizens will look at as an “acceptable financial hardship”.

Citizen’s Bank and CCO Mortgage’s loss mitigation guidelines cover a number of acceptable financial hardships, here are a few of the more common ones: Decrease in income, job loss, unemployment, adjustment of an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage), any increase in mortgage payment, death in the family, illness, disability, child birth, excessive credit card debt, decrease in assets, and increases in other household expenses.

As previously stated, Citizens Bank now participates in the Making Home Affordable Program, meaning that it’s conceivable to get an interest rate as low as 2% on a 30 year fixed loan through an aggressive loan modification. For more information on the Making Home Affordable Program, check out these HAMP Guidelines.

If your mortgage is currently held by Citizens Bank, it may be in your best interest to take a look at a loan modification as you are most likely paying more than you have to on your mortgage.

Items You Will Need When Applying for a Loan Modification
When applying for a loan modification with Citizens Bank, you will need to document your income, assets, and expenses. Here’s a quick list of what you will need:

Please note that Citizens Bank may ask for additional supporting documentation when reviewing your loan modification package.

What to do When You Call Citizens Bank
You can reach the Citizens Bank Loss Mitigation Department directly at (800) 234-6002. Now, as with most lenders Citizens Bank has two different departments that field calls on delinquent loans and how homeowners are treated and the help they receive varies base upon which department of Citizens they have reached!

The first department of Citizens Bank that speaks to delinquent homeowners typically is their collection’s department, who will try to get the homeowner to catch up by immediately paying back the amount they are late on, including the legal and late fees that Citizens Bank assesses.

The second department at Citizens consists of loss mitigation specialists and negotiators. Modification Zoom has significant experience working with lender loss mitigation departments and getting the best loan modifications for our clients. If you believe you need help getting a loan modification from Citizens Bank / CCO Mortgage, complete the form to the right, or apply here.

Often, homeowners contact us after they have presented financial information to their lender that makes it impossible for them to get a loan modification. If you do not have years of loss mitigation experience, the time to learn is not on your own foreclosure.

Modification Zoom can help get a loan modification from Citizens Bank / CCO Mortgage that will put you in a much better financial situation. Complete a form on any page of this website, and we will contact you immediately. The consultation is quick, absolutely risk free, and completely confidential. Take the first step today!

———————

Mortgages Loan :Power swings to sellers

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:59:47 +0000

The balance of power in the housing market continued to swing towards the seller in October, a month in which the average price of property shot up by 2.8 per cent.

It was the largest October rise in six years and, as a result, the typical home is now being placed on the market

=============
Article Content:

The balance of power in the housing market continued to swing towards the seller in October, a month in which the average price of property shot up by 2.8 per cent.

It was the largest October rise in six years and, as a result, the typical home is now being placed on the market at the price of £230,184, almost £6,200 higher than in September, according to Rightmove.

It also means prices are 0.2 per cent higher than in October last year, the first time a year on year increase has been recorded since June 2008.

Meanwhile, the number of new properties that came to the market during the month amounted to 95,000, a 36 per cent decrease on the figure reported two years ago.

With around 22,000 of these properties currently exempt from stamp duty, the report noted that some sellers appear to be looking to cash in before the temporary rise in the threshold comes to an end in January.

As a consequence, it is suggested an extension of the stamp duty holiday could prove beneficial to the market as a whole.

“Sellers of properties which benefit from the temporary stamp duty exemption form a substantial sector of the market,” said Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove.
“They will be hoping that buyers who are unable to transact at the moment will maintain their interest into the new year when properties are effectively one per cent more expensive.”

Find the best mortgage for you – compare Mortgages

———————

Mortgages Loan :How Can a Loan Modification Help Me?

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:23:07 +0000

A Mortgage Modification is the desirable resolution to financial trouble for mortgagees in need of mortgage aid, and as such has been the focus of a substantial degree of press recognition following the coming of the credit crisis.
Most reasonably, you are here on grounds that you

=============
Article Content:
A Mortgage Modification is the desirable resolution to financial trouble for mortgagees in need of mortgage aid, and as such has been the focus of a substantial degree of press recognition following the coming of the credit crisis.

Most reasonably, you are here on grounds that you in fact have discovered Loan Workouts, the aptitude they have to aid just about all homeowners, regardless if you are behind or current on your loan, and your as likely as not hunting for more enlightenment on Loan Modifications and loss mitigation practice.

My design through this post is to help you become a Home Loan Modification pro, so read on!

We’re going to review the essentials first:

What is a Mortgage Loan Modification?
A Loan Modification is a permanent alteration in the conditions of your existing mortgage as aceded to by you, the borrower and your mortgage lender.

Why on earth do I want a Loan Modification?
A Loan Workout can do many great things for you. Most importantly, succesful Mortgage Modifications lower interest rates, and of course, lower payments. There are borrowers throughout the USA saving tons each month because of Mortgage Modifications.

Further benefits of a Mortgage Loan Modification include the prospect of a decrease in the amountunpaid (principal balance reduction), a revision in the number of years of the loan, converting the loan into a lower, fixed-rate mortgage, and even clearing of late fees and legal fees.

Saving money each month? Lowering my interest rate? Wow that sounds great. What’s the catch?

Why would my lender help me?
Your mortgage lender has lost a huge amount of money due to foreclosures; most of the homes they foreclose on are underwater, meaning that the defaulted loans are significantly higher than the values of the properties. Sure, your lender will “lose” money when your payments go down, however, receiving any mortgage payment from you is better than no payment at all, or worse, having to foreclose on you.

How do I get a Mortgage Modification?
Friends, the name of the game is hardship. Well, it goes a little beyond simple hardship, but that’s what we’re going to start with. The first step to getting a Home Loan Modification is showing your lender that you simply can no longer afford to make your mortgage payments on time.

Now, different lenders adhere to different criteria for determining your “affordable” payment. Many lenders participate in Making Home Affordable, for example, wherein and aside from other guidelines, your “affordable” payment is 31% of your gross income (income before taxes).

Other lender’s use different guidelines to qualify you. With Indymac, for example, the magic percentage of your gross income is 38% (under FDIC’s Mod-in-a-Box program). This “affordable” payment is the total of your Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, and HOA Fees (if applicable).

Still other lenders utilize an archaic system of totaling up your total net income, then subtracting expenses. For many “in-house”, non-Government backed Loan Workout programs, lenders may use a combination of both qualification methods.

Getting qualified is as simple as contacting an expert who can aid you. An expert can also ensure you hit key target hardships that will help you qualify for a Mortgage Modification, and, being a wonderful expert, I’m going to give you a couple of the best hardship’s for free, right here!

Justin’s Acceptable Loan Modification Hardships

A Quick Guide to the Loan Workout Process

Write a Hardship Letter. Need help writing a hardship letter?
Get on the phone with your loss mitigation department. (There’s a complete list of lender loss mitigation department contact numbers at the bottom of the resources page of this website.)
Set realistic expectations, and document your conversation with your lender – start a log – called Countrywide, 12:00 pm Saturday the 29th, spoke with Dave regarding HAMP Loan Modification, faxing over required documents.
Send required documents that your lender needs – Bank statements, tax returns, paystubs, etc.
Negotiate for the best terms that you can on your Loan Modification.
Sign your Loan Workout agreement.

Alrighty, hopefully you’ve got a pretty good idea of what to do to get a Loan Modification. If you need assistance, the best place to get aid is by completing the form to the right. I know that we’ve covered a good deal of Loan Modification information, but there’s a good deal more Mortgage Loan Modification facts that you should know prior to contacting your lender, for example, which programs your lender participates in, and what the guidelines are of those programs. Also, you may want to find a direct contact number so that you don’t have to wait on hold for hours and hours. We’ve got that and more throughout this website, and experts are always standing by to offer you free advice and offer free consultation. We ask that if you do need loan modification representation, that you consider Modification Zoom first!

———————

Best Mortgage Loan :HSBC Loan Modification

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

HSBC Loan Modification. What a tough, tough process. First and foremost, HSBC has elected not to participate in Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program, and, for the most part, seems intent on not providing permanent solutions for homeowners whenever possible, preferring to

=============
Article Content:
HSBC Loan Modification. What a tough, tough process. First and foremost, HSBC has elected not to participate in Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program, and, for the most part, seems intent on not providing permanent solutions for homeowners whenever possible, preferring to opt for short term (typically 6 month) reductions in interest rate and payments through their “in-house” loan modification programs.

Although HSBC at one time indicated they were going to be taking a more active role in helping homeowners with ARM mortgages that have adjusted, and had agreed to Senator Dodd’s Home Preservation Plan, in all actuality HSBC could be doing a significant amount more to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Please note that HSBC and Homecomings Financial are one and the same lender now.

In January of 2008, HSBC launched the Comet program, which sought to identify repeated signs of risk and offer loan modifications to homeowners before they had to request help. This was a continuation of the HSBC Foreclosure Assistance Program, which is committed to helping homeowners modify their loans and stay in their homes, however the homeowners that were contacted by HSBC under their Comet program seem almost arbitrary, sharing little correlation in financial hardship or circumstance, and the loan workouts and modifications offered too seemed arbitrary.

HSBC Loss Mitigation Department Contact Information
Phone – (800) 338-6441
Address – Default Resolution Team, 2929 Walden Ave., Depew, NY 14043
Loss Mitigation Department – (888) 648-3124
Fax – (732) 352-7519
Website – http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/home-loans/mortgage/existing/when-payment-difficulties-arise

Commonly Asked Questions

I was asked for a copy of the Financial Disclosure Form by HSBC as part of my loan modification package. Where can I find a copy of it?
A copy of HSBC’s financial disclosure form can be found here:http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/PA_1_2_39/content/usshared/Personal%20Services/Home%20Loans/Mortgage/Existing/Payment%20Difficulties/fnclform.pdf

What is the deal with the 6 month “band-aid” loan modification solution that I was offered? Are they ever going to place me in a permanent loan modification?
Most likely HSBC will only offer a 6 month, temporary solution unless you have a great Attorney. The majority of HSBC’s servicing agreements with their investors do not allow aggressive, permanent loan modifications, and the only way to strong-arm HSBC and the concerned investor(s) into actually granting a permanent loan modification is through either a detailed forensic audit highlighting multiple violations of RESPA and TILA coupled with a pending lawsuit, or through detailed examination of fiscal viability based upon NPV analysis coupled with Net-Cashflow borrower ability to repay the lower payment.

Should I get a Lawyer?
Definitely.

Where can I speak with others who are having a tough time with HSBC? Are their already any complaints against HSBC?

Most definitely. Here are a number of sites that should help:

If your lender is HSBC or Beneficial and you are in need of a loan modification, please complete the form to the right to have a free, in depth discussion regarding the best way to wrestle a permanent loan modification from HSBC. If you have additional questions about what exactly is a loan modification, or how one can help you, please take a look at the Loan Modification Q&A. For more information on Modification Zoom, please check out the About area.

———————

Mortgage Loans :MGC Loan Modification

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

A MGC loan modification is almost impossible to get these days without extensive attorney help as well as a well prepared case. Throughout the Country, homeowners are completely fed up with MGC and their lack of response to qualified, make sense requests for loan modifications, and

=============
Article Content:
A MGC loan modification is almost impossible to get these days without extensive attorney help as well as a well prepared case. Throughout the Country, homeowners are completely fed up with MGC and their lack of response to qualified, make sense requests for loan modifications, and the amount of fraud and predatory lending that has turned up in MGC originated mortgages is staggering.

Most loans serviced by MGC were sold to them by GMAC, or by Homecomings Financial (a GMAC subsidiary specializing in subprime mortgages). This is not a coincidence; it is my belief that these loans that are being sent over to MGC are viewed as “high risk”, or as one representative of MGC told me on the phone, “bottom of the barrel”. These are loans that GMAC does not want to have to modify under Making Home Affordable. I mean no slander by this statement, and I genuinely hope to be proven wrong, however as it stands this is a true statement!

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of contact information and qualification for MGC loan modifications, here are a couple of sites that provide a good picture of MGC:

If your servicer / mortgage lender is MGC, and you are in need of a loan modification, you almost assuredly need a darn good attorney group to represent you.

Here is a message from complaintsboard.com where one homeowner is taking a stand against MGC:

I had a mortgage through Homecomings financial, which offered me a loan modification, then sold my mortgage to MGC, which did not send statements, or give me any information about my loan. It was finally sent to an attorney threatening me with accelerating my loan, and foreclosing. I talked to the loss mitigation department, who claimed he would look into this matter, and get to the bottom of it, and I told him that if we could not reach an agreement, I would pursue legal action. He never called me back about the matter, but two weeks later, I received notice that they (MGC) sold the servicing of my loan to GMAC. I thought that now I have a legitimate company handling my mortgage, but I was wrong. I have sent it my payment as per the modification, but my check was recently sent back to me, saying not to redeposit, and only full payment would be accepted, and now they would pursue foreclosing of my property. I have counsel advising me on actions to take, and now I need all of you. Those of you that refuse to be “strong armed, and threatened”, need to contact me, for we need to band together, and file a class action law suit in federal court. They picked the wrong person to mess with, now its time to take a stand.

Here is another horrific story from another homeowner:

I am in as well. I have a grueling story as well. Homecomings Financial originally had the servicing of my loan for many years, which was sent to MGC for a short period of time late in 2008 and subsequently overtaken by GMAC as the servicer in October 2008. Have been dealing with GMAC since. I initially bought this property in 2002. Loan was for 243 K. I have been paying exorbitant interest rates for seven years, and was hanging in when rates were climbing as high as 14.2%. At one period of time in 2006, I had many medical bills coming in fast and furious due to a head on collision that I had experienced in 2004, which nearly resulted in my death, however through divine grace, I lived. I support four children alone and have a deadbeat ex that is well over 40 K in arrears in medical support. Homecomings had allowed me to complete a workout package during this time to get caught up (in 2006 when the medical bills for the portions not covered by insurance), in which I paid 3500.00 per month over the course of 13 months to Homecomings. It was honored to a tee.

Then with the recent economic dive early this year, I no longer could afford to pay 12% interest that I am currently at. I talked with GMAC at length. I was again falling into arrears and wished to work with someone. GMAC indicated that they could not stretch any sort of arrearage over 13 months despite what had been honored with Homecomings or that Homecomings had done this, and that they could only stretch the arrears over a 6 month period and keep my payment current, bringing my normal 2, 468.00 payment to 80.00 per month. Again, I am a single mother supporting four children and have done so for the past many years. I told them this was not possible to do as I had received a 26.3 % pay cut with my employer. (I did pay this 80.00 once late in Jan of this year after filing my taxes early, but could not after this.) GMAC was heartless and sent me into foreclosure, which was literally stopped today by an attorney obtaining an order from a judge for an injunction. The letter of acceleration I received before receiving the intent to foreclose indicates the outstanding amount to be 1 K .This loan indicates that the interest rate cannot go below 9.5% and cannot exceed 16.5% and is interest only until the year 2030 . Was told by a GMAC rep last night that the investor is MGC. What a mess. I have paid literally thousands of dollars over the course of seven years and they opt not to work with me under the making home affordable plan? And WISH to foreclose? My escrow is short as well and the numerics of all of it make no sense at all. Something is amiss. Sebring Capital is the bank who initially provided the loan. They were located in Carrollton TX, but they closed in 2006. Must have seen the writing on the wall! Nothing but issues with MGC and GMAC.

And another:

Homecomings has helped ruin my credit when 2 months after closing, STATE FARM contacts THEM requesting payment for our homeowners insurance, which; as AZ Law dictates, 14 months had been paid for in escrow at closing. I have all documentaion from the title company, including a copy of State Farm’s cancelled check…As a result, our 2 month’s worth of escrow account was drained and showed a negative balance, which has since been reported to the credit bureaus regularly, our monthy payment on a 30 year fixed increase 0 and we have been given the ‘…not looking goood…, ‘ regarding our recent loan modification request. Bottom line, aside from AIG, maybe there were other crooked insurance companies benefiting from the mortgage cluster*&%$ and although we still have our jobs (blessing) and weren’t a subprime loan…Our home has an auction date of 6/19/2008. So, for the record and to anyone interested…I’m all in if there are ANY class actions filed against GMAC/Homecomings/US Bank (like we don’t know) and/or State Farm. Good luck to all.

The list goes on; I’m interested to hear your stories regarding MGC; comment below. If your in the unfortunate circumstance of having your mortgage held by MGC, get attorney help. Modification Zoom can put you in touch with a great Loss Mitigation Attorney that will force MGC to modify your loan and help you out. Complete the form at the top right, and we’ll help you get it done.

———————

Mortgages Loans :Loan Modification Q&A

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

Do you qualify for a loan modification under the Obama Program (HAMP)? And do you need help? Find answers here for free!

=============
Article Content:
What is a loan modification?
A loan modification is an agreement between borrower and lender to help the borrower afford their home.

A loan modification, also known as mortgage modification or loan workout, can help homeowners achieve a lower interest rate, lower monthly payments, forgive legal fees, reduce the loan balance, waive unpaid late fees, convert from an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a fixed-rate mortgage, extend or shorten the duration of the loan, and stop the foreclosure process.

A loan modification is usually in the best interest of both bank and homeowner, as it allows the homeowner to make a lower, affordable payment, while helping the lender avoid losing money due to foreclosure.

Do I have to be late on my mortgage to qualify?
If your lender participates in Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program, you do not have to be late on your mortgage payment to qualify for a loan modification, however you do need to exhibit documentation that shows that you will default on your next mortgage payment.

In many cases, you actually do not have to be late on your mortgage to qualify for a loan modification!

Often times, if you have a forensic audit performed and you can bring a lawsuit to bear against your lender or servicer based on legal violations, and give them the option of avoiding litigation by modifying your loan, guess what, most of the time, lenders will grant a very aggressive loan modification with far better results than possible through hardhip based loss mitigation techniques!

What is foreclosure?
A foreclosure simply put is when a lender undertakes legal proceedings to repossess a property that is in default. When a homeowner has not been able to make their mortgage payments for an extended length of time, the lender may feel that the loan has defaulted, and will attempt to take back the property. In a foreclosure, any equity that the homeowner has in the property is lost, and the homeowner has to immediately vacate the premises.

Can ModificationZoom get me a loan modification? Do you guarantee results?
We pride ourselves on being the very best Loss Mitigation Group you can possibly retain. Our Attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants, loss mitigation specialists, processors, and representatives are committed to fighting for the best possible results on your loan modification.

We stand behind our commitment to help homeowners with a 100% money back guarantee, and have actually helped over 100 homeowners modify their loans pro bono (for free).

On average, of each 200 cases that we accept, we will successfully negotiate agressive loan modifications for 195 applicants; we are over 97% successful in helping our clients save their homes.

I was told my Lender was doing everything they can to help?
Nothing could be further from the truth. For the second time in the last month, President Obama has summoned top CEO’s of the remaining major mortgage banks to the White House to explain in person why more mortgage loan modifications are not being done for struggling homeowners.

Additionally, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan have had to continuously put pressure on mortgage Banks to help homeowners modify their loans. Many State Attorney Generals have partnered with the FTC to sue mortgage servicers that are not granting loan modifications, and that have made a business practice out of putting homeowners in toxic mortgages.

Hold times for homeowners are particularly outrageous, as perfectly documented by Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ two-and-a-half hour long ordeal on the phone with Countrywide / Bank of America trying to help her constituents get loan modifications.

Mortgage companies simply do not have the man power to help all of the homeowners that they have screwed over. Recent pressure has been placed on lenders that have received TARP funds to hire more employees, and banks claim to have complied. Why then does it take so darn long to get on the phone with someone, and why, unless you are an attorney, do the lenders continuously claim to be unable to help!

Often times, lenders will place homeowners in loan modification or loan workout plans, or forbearance agreements in which the borrower ends up paying more that their original mortgage payment! How does this make any sense??

What is the loan modification process?
Complete a “quick-qual” application to the right. A ModificationZoom Certified Professional will contact you and help you prepare a financial prospectus, hardship letter, and advise you of what to expect through the loan modification process. Once we recieve your signed ModPack™ along with supporting documentation, our Attorneys and paralegals will contact your lender and begin the modification process. Typically, it will take your lender between one to two months to assign a negotiator.

Once a negotiator has been assigned, we negotiate on your behalf for the best possible results on your loan modification, keeping you advised through each step of the process. We offer unlimited negotiations with your lender, and will go back to the negotiating table as many times as necessary to get the results you need.

When we have concluded negotiations with your lender, a loan modification agreement will be sent to you to sign and send back. Upon singing of the loan modification agreement, congratulations, your mortgage is modified, home saved, and you are saving tons of money!

The loan modification process can be quite confusing at times, and naturally, you have questions about how loan modifications work. Answers to most general questions regarding loan modifications, loss mitigation, and loan workouts can be found on this page, but of course we are here to answer any questions that you may have. If you have a question that is not answered above, feel free to leave a reply and an expert will provide an answer shortly, or simply have a loss mitigation specialist call you directly by completing the “quick-qual” application form to the right.

———————

Best Mortgage Loan :Making Home Affordable Loan Modification

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

Loan modification help is just a few seconds away. Find out more about Making Home Affordable here!

=============
Article Content:
What is Making Home Affordable?
Loan modification help is only a few seconds away! Read this article to find out more about the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable loan modification program and to see whether or not you qualify.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is the single best way to achieve a fixed rate loan modification that will significantly lower your monthly mortgage payments. You do not have to be late on your mortgage to qualify under the Government Initiative, and your loan does not necessarily have to be held by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.

Financial incentives are given to lenders that participate in modifying mortgage loans under the initiative, and to date hundreds of thousands of homeowners have saved their homes and avoided foreclosure through loan workouts.

Which Lenders Participate in Making Home Affordable?
If your loan is currently guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, participation by your mortgage holder, or servicer, is mandatory, and if you qualify for a loan modification under the guidelines, they must approve it. Otherwise, lender participation is voluntary. Here’s an up to date list of which lenders participate in Making Home Affordable:

1. American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.
2. Aurora Loan Services, LLC
3. Bank of America, N.A.
4. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC
5. CCO Mortgage
6. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC
7. CitiMortgage, Inc.
8. Citizens First Wholesale Mortgage Co.
9. Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP
10. EMC Mortgage Corporation
11. Farmers State Bank
12. First Banks
13. First Federal Savings and Loan
14. GMAC Mortgage LLC
15. HomEq Servicing
16. Home Loan Services, Inc.
17. IBM Southeast Employees Federal Credit Union
18. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, NA
19. Lake City Bank
20. Lake National Bank
21. Litton Loan Servicing

22. Mission Federal Credit Union
23. MorEquity, Inc.
24. Mortgage Center, LLC
25. Oakland Municipal Credit Union
26. Ocwen Financial Corporation, Inc.
27. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC
28. PNC Bank, National Association
29. Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union
30. RG Mortgage Corporation
31. Residential Credit Solutions
32. Saxon Mortgage Services
33. Select Portfolio Servicing
34. Servis One Inc., dba BSI Financial Services, Inc.
35. ShoreBank
36. Technology Credit Union
37. Wachovia Mortgage, FSB
38. Wachovia Bank, NA
39. Wells Fargo Bank ,NA
40. Wescom Central Credit Union
41. Wilshire Credit Corporation

What Are the Guidelines for Making Home Affordable?
You can qualify for a loan modification under Making Home Affordable if you meet the following guidelines:

1. Your home is your primary and only residence
2. The amount that you owe on your first mortgage is equal to or less than 9,750
3. You are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments
4. You got your current mortgage before January 1, 2009
5. Your payment on your first mortgage (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA fees if applicable) is greater than 31% of your current gross income

What are the Benefits of Making Home Affordable?
Many borrowers say, ok, I want to save my home and lower my monthly mortgage payment as much as possible. How much money will I save if I get a loan modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)?

Under Making Home Affordable, your new monthly payment will be the maximum amount that you can afford under program guidelines. The target maximum amount for your monthly mortgage payment is based upon your “front end” DTI or Debt-to-Income Ratio. To calculate your new mortgage payment and to determine how much money you will save, multiply your gross monthly income by 31%.

For qualification purposes, do not include any payments on your second mortgage. Make sure to account for taxes and insurance by dividing the yearly or quarterly amounts to monthly figures. If you are currently escrowed, make sure to account for your Taxes and Insurance only once.

HAMP expires on December 31,2012. Your trial loan modification must be in place prior to this date in order to get a loan modification through MHA.

If you are in need of loan modification help, or your lender is being uncooperative in helping you get a mortgage loan modification, please contact us by completing a quick application right here on our website. We are Modification Zoom, and we are here to help!

———————

Mortgages Loan :Making Home Affordable Isn’t Helping Enough

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

To date, approximately 240,000 homeowners have gotten loan modifications through Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). While this sounds impressive, this is actually terrible; originally President Obama was quoted saying he hoped that government initiative would help

=============
Article Content:
Loan modification has been all over the news as of late as struggling homeowners have been seeking a way to avoid foreclosure and lower their mortgage payments to affordable amounts. Since the implode of the housing bubble, on average over 200,000 Americans have been served foreclosure notices each month, and they are desperately in need of a solution.

Prior to implementation of the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, lenders all had completely different and often completely arbitrary guidelines for which homeowners they would or would not grant a mortgage loan modification.

Towards the end of the Bush Administration, a program was implemented called “Hope for Homeowners”. It was a smashing failure. Hope for Homeowners required borrowers who achieved modifications through the program to agree to give a significant amount of the equity in their homes to the Government should they decide to sell their property. Additionally, a horrific assumption was made that lenders would simply voluntarily participate, however nothing could be further from the truth.

To date, approximately 240,000 homeowners have gotten loan modifications through Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). While this sounds impressive, this is actually terrible; originally President Obama was quoted saying he hoped that government initiative would help 8-9 million homeowners in need. Clearly we are missing the mark, however this time around there are at least incentives to lenders to help homeowners get a loan modification under Making Home Affordable.

Embedded video from CNN Video

Fundamentally, there are a number of problems with the programs. First and foremost, lenders do not want to help the neediest homeowners as they are the riskiest. Homeowners that are days away from foreclosure are very much more likely to re-default even after a loan modification.

From the homeowners’ viewpoint, they are simply fed up with hours of time wasted on hold with lenders only to be connected with a “specialist” that is under-trained, or worse, simply will not take the homeowner seriously unless there is also an Attorney on the line. Turn times are horrific; for homeowners attempting to get modifications on their own they often have to wait 3 months or more for any kind of mortgage relief.

President Obama, The Department of Treasury, and The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have become so fed up with Lender inaction that they have on numerous occasions called in the CEO’s of the major lenders to explain why more hasn’t and isn’t being done.

Across the internet on websites such as Mandleman Matters, Loanworkout.org, Blown Mortgage, and numerous others, as well as in the media through print and TV, there has been a public outcry against lenders inaction, and unwillingness to help borrowers get mortgage modifications.

Here’s a recent and interesting article from CNN on the failure of the Making Home Affordable Program:

(CNN) — When President Obama unveiled the Making Home Affordable Program in March, he said it would help “responsible folks who have been making their payments” reduce their monthly mortgage bills and avoid losing their homes to foreclosure.

But six months into the program, only 6 percent of the 4 million eligible homeowners have gotten help. A lot more say they’ve been frustrated with the runaround they’ve been getting from lenders.

Are the new program’s growing pains responsible for the slow start, as bankers say, or is pain to their bottom lines really preventing the program from working, as critics say?

The Making Home Affordable Program is supposed to work this way:

In return for billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout money, banks would offer loans that would reduce troubled borrowers’ monthly mortgage payments to 31 percent of their income. To qualify, a homeowner must have an income and must live in the house, and that house can’t be worth more than 0,000.

The bank is also allowed to calculate the value of the mortgage against the profit it would make from a foreclosure.

Banks are prohibited from selling a house in foreclosure while the homeowner is being considered for an adjustment. The Treasury Department oversees the program, and the banks signed contracts with Treasury binding them to cooperate. Watch more about how the program has worked so farVideo

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been so unhappy with the program’s pace that he called in lenders for a meeting and demanded they do better.

In a July 9 letter to one servicer, JP Morgan, Geithner and Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, wrote “there is a general need for servicers to devote substantially more resources to this program for it to fully succeed and achieve the objectives we share.”

They called on the banks to hire more staff, expand their call centers and allow homeowners “an escalation path for borrowers dissatisfied with the service they have received.”

The mortgage industry’s top lobbyist says any problems to date are the growing pains associated with getting such a massive program up and running.

“It is working, and it needs to be given some time,” says John Courson, head of the Mortgage Bankers Association. He says banks are still staffing up and getting the program off the ground. “It took 90 days to get out the rules and the procedures and the forms, and so that’s a fairly new program,” he said.

Courson says that lenders are still “training more and more staff as they are getting more and more people who are familiar with this program.”

He insists that the banks want to cooperate.

“It’s in the banks’ best interest to work with those borrowers to keep those loans on the books and avoid foreclosure,” Courson said.

But critics say that the program works against the banks’ best interests, as the homeowners who most need the program are the riskiest bets.

“If the borrower is really in trouble, [the lenders] probably don’t want to do the modification, because they think there’s a good chance the borrower will redefault, and they will do a lot of work and they won’t collect money,” said Paul Willen, an economist with the Boston Federal Reserve who has studied bank foreclosures and modifications.

“The problem with this is in some deep sense, you can’t penalize the banks for acting in self-interest. It’s a for-profit business.”

Others are critical of the voluntary nature of the program and the Obama administration’s hands-off relationship with lenders.

The Treasury Department official charged with overseeing the program insists it’s “off to a strong start, with hundreds of thousands of trial modifications already underway.”

Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr acknowledges that “servicer performance has been uneven, but servicers have committed to ramping up efforts to improve the process for borrowers,” and he insists that “the administration will hold these institutions accountable for their progress.”

He says Treasury is on track to help 3 million to 4 million homeowners in three years.

Diane Thompson of the National Consumer Law Center has a theory on why the Obama administration isn’t getting tougher with the banks: “This is a voluntary program. I think Treasury has been very concerned to make sure that servicers [the banks] are willing to participate.”

She’s convinced that banks will improve their track record only if they’re forced to make loans.

“Until it’s made a mandatory program, I think we will not see a significant drop in foreclosures,” Thompson said.

Another problem with the program is that banks don’t always have the final say.

Many of these mortgages are held by private investors, and the bank simply acts as a middleman. If investors think they can make more money by foreclosing than modifying the loan, experts say the bank is powerless to override that decision.

Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School, explains, “These are contracts. The government does not have the right to rescind contracts. The government can legislate all they want, but there can be lawsuits.”

Willen adds: “What’s upsetting about this is that with Making Home Affordable, what you ended up with may be worse [than doing nothing]. We’re giving more money to banks, and not preventing many foreclosures.”

The Treasury Department has begun stepping up pressure on banks. This month, it began publicly reporting the number of the program’s loans the banks had offered, as a way to shame banks into better participation rates.

While JP Morgan-Chase has enrolled 20 percent of its eligible customers and Citibank 15 percent, two banks that got the biggest bailouts have some of the lowest enrollment rates, according to Treasury: Wells Fargo has enrolled 6 percent of eligible customers, and Bank of America 4 percent.

Both banks say that those numbers are misleading — that they have many more offers in the pipeline and have increased staffing.

Bank of America also says it is bigger than other banks, so it has more applicants to process. Wells Fargo also says that it has refinanced many hundreds of thousands of loans outside of the government program.

Courson said many other banks are also offering their own mortgage modification programs, and if you count those, “a million and a half borrowers were assisted in the first six months in this year.”

Multiple administration officials insist to CNN that there is adequate oversight of the program and that the Treasury Department has enlisted Freddie Mac to monitor the banks.

A Freddie Mac official, who would speak only on the condition of anonymity because it is acting “at the direction of Treasury,” told CNN that its investigators visit banks, but only after giving the banks’ management notice that they’re coming.

The agency reviews loan documents, but only those that lenders provide. There are no surprise visits, no tape recordings of bank calls to assure quality assurance, and no way to respond to individual homeowner complaints.

Recently, Freddie Mac began random reviews of cases in which homeowners were denied Making Home Affordable loans. So far, Freddie Mac has not found a single instance of noncompliance worth referring to the Treasury Department for a penalty.

The Treasury Department was unable to show CNN any instance of a lender being penalized for breaking the program’s rules.

Source: Jessica Yellin, CNN National Political Correspondent

Its rapidly becoming apparent that as lenders become more profitable and pay back the TARP stimulus funds loaned to them by the Federal Government, they are going to become less and less likely to approve loan modifications. During the refi boom, if you were late on your mortgage, there was almost no such thing as a loan modification, or mortgage relief.

Already, it is almost impossible to get a loan modification without a strong Attorney forcing the lender into granting a loan workout. Soon, it may become even more difficult for the Attorneys to get mortgage loan modifications for clients. Homeowners are urged to take the time to speak with a Modification Zoom Consultant, and possibly connect with an Attorney. We’re here to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and can answer the tough questions that lenders may not want to or refuse to answer.

———————

Best Mortgage Loan :What is a Mortgage Loan Modification & How Do I Get One?

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:14:40 +0000

What is a Loan Modification?
A mortgage loan modification is a process whereby the terms of the existing mortgage are modified to new terms that are more agreeable to the homeowner and lender.
What’s the basic idea behind loan modifications? How does this work? Can a loan

=============
Article Content:
What is a Loan Modification?

A mortgage loan modification is a process whereby the terms of the existing mortgage are modified to new terms that are more agreeable to the homeowner and lender.

What’s the basic idea behind loan modifications? How does this work? Can a loan modification save my home?

Lenders have been faced with staggering losses due to so many foreclosures. Typically when a lender forecloses on a home, the house is “under-water”. When you add the total cost of foreclosure, including legal fees, maintaining the property, Realtor fees, and the overall loss due to the house being upside down, it typically translates to a huge cost to the lender. Rather than foreclosing on a home, in most cases it makes more sense for a lender to help the homeowner lower their payment on their mortgage and keep their house. By helping borrowers save their homes, lenders are able to still earn interest on the existing loans, and do not have to face the huge cost of foreclosure up front.

What are the benefits of a loan modification?

There are many possible benefits to successfully modifying your mortgage loan, which include a reduction of your interest rate, changing your loan from an adjustable mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, reducing the principal balance, or the amount that you owe, reducing or forgiving the amount that you owe in late fees and penalties, changing the duration of the loan – e.g. to a 30 yr. or 40 yr. mortgage, and capping the monthly payment to a percentage of the household income.

Who ultimately decides whether or not to grant a loan modification?

Your lender ultimately makes the decision whether or not to modify your mortgage.

What about Government Programs, such as FDIC’s Mod-in-a-Box, HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) under the Loan Modification option of Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, and the new FHA – HAMP? Will these force my lender to grant a loan modification?

It is important to remember that lender or bank participation in these programs is voluntary. Yes, the Government typically provides incentives under these initiatives to lenders to modify mortgages; however, it may not necessarily guarantee that a mortgage loan modification will be completed. Additionally, even if your lender or servicer participates in Government Loan Modification Programs, your loan may actually be held by a servicer that does not participate in these programs. The very best thing to do is to speak with a loss mitigation expert that can help you make sure that you qualify under these Government Programs, such as a HUD Counselor or a reputable Attorney.

Do I have to be late on my mortgage to qualify for a loan workout?

You do not necessarily have to be late on your mortgage to qualify for mortgage help, a lower interest rate, and a lower payment. Many lenders do require that you are late on your payment prior to considering a loan modification, however, under some programs and with certain lenders, you do not have to be late on your mortgage, you merely need to demonstrate that you are experiencing enough financial hardship that warrants a loan modification.

What if I have lost my job and am currently unemployed?

In some cases you may still qualify for assistance. It is important to speak with your lender, a HUD counselor, or legal representation regarding your qualification and the possibility of getting a mortgage loan modification prior to beginning the loan modification process. In some cases, the time may be better spent looking for employment, and then contacting your lender’s loss mitigation department.

What if I have completely let my finances go, and the Sheriff is literally knocking on my door?

Speak with an attorney immediately. You may be able to postpone the foreclosure with an attorney’s help long enough to get a loan modification done. One stall tactic that is often employed is merely to send a qualified written request to your lender demanding a copy of the original note; without a copy of the note, your lender cannot foreclose. Filing for bankruptcy can also delay the foreclosure process, however lenders are catching on and almost immediately combating this with requests for release. The best thing to do is to speak with an attorney.

How long does it take to get a Mortgage Loan Modification?

Typically, mortgage loan modifications take anywhere from 30-90 days to complete. Make sure that during that time, you make an effort to still make your payments, and that you are prepared to document each and every statement that is made to your lender.

How tough is it to get a Loan Modification?

In most cases it is very difficult to wrestle a loan modification from your lender. Often, homeowners will have to wait hours on hold, and be transferred from department to department. Even Congresswoman Maxine Waters could not get anywhere in helping homeowners after over two hours on the phone with Bank of America and Countrywide. It is a painful, arduous ordeal that takes time, and even after a good deal of time is spent on getting the loan modification, if you do not fit your lender’s guidelines exactly, you will not be granted a loan modification.

Who do you recommend for HELP!?

ModificationZoom can connect you with an attorney that will guarantee a loan modification that will put you in a better financial position. Contact us at (866) 760-9099, or complete the quick-qual form on our website. Our attorney’s know loss mitigation, and know the guidelines that will get you a successful mortgage loan modification, and will negotiate the very best terms that they can for you.

———————