Unaffordable Mortgage? How To Start A Loan Modification

Has your mortgage payment become unaffordable? Considering a loan modification in Folsom, El DorAdo Hills, Roseville, Natomas, Elk Grove or West Sacramento? Need someone to help with your Sacramento area Loan Modification?

Read more and check Government Foreclosure Prevention Program Eligibility here.

Homeowners never want to lose their home.  And it’s never an easy decision for an underwater homeowner or investor to do a short sale or strategic default.

As a Certified Short Sale Specialist and an experienced short sale agent, I spend much of my time talking to homeowners in Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs, Cameron Park, and even West Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Natomas and Elk Grove and the entire Sacramento area who are struggling with mortgage payments that are way too big…  Monthly payments that are now too high to afford.  sure, they were do-able when the economy was thriving; when the homeowners had plenty of overtime and two stable incomes supporting the family. But now, after layoffs, furloughs, pay reductions and business failures, a mortgage that is twice or three times as high as rent on a home that is “equity deficient” is just not sustainable for many, many people.

With an uncertain future and an economy still struggling here in the Sacramento area,  I am talking to lots of people who are right on the verge…

And most have tried to contact their bank about a loan modification and have had very little success;

What to do now?

Keep trying!

And study loan mods! Read everything you can get your hands on about successful loan modification strategies! order every report you can, and get ready for the fight of your life!

A friend on mine has written a great report entitled; Your Guide To a successful Loan Modification; Getting your Lender To “Yes”.

I have tweaked it, updated it and added some additional Loan Modification information especially about the new Government Loan Modification Programs, and I am  including the first section of this great report here in this post, but to order your ow printable PDF of this great Loan Mod How-to report:

Here is the first section of this great Loan Modification Guide and Step By Step Loan Modification Directions :

Section l – You, Your Family and Your Mortgage

lf you are dealing with a mortgage that makes it difficult for you remain current on all of your financial obligations, you know the strain it puts on you and your family. Your family is forced to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing for sure if you will be able to stay in your home, and over time many begin to wonder if they even want to stay in their home. lf you are like most homeowners you quickly come to the realization that-

• This is not about your mortgage
• This is not about your house
• This is about your life

The primary goal of this loan modification guide is to provide some help and guidance to those homeowners who are faced with a mortgage they can no longer afford. The weight of a mortgage that is dragging you down can seem overwhelming, and sometimes that first step is a tough one. So, let’s look at how to get started on the road to a solution.

This is a Business Decision   Remember:  “…It’s Just Business!”
Just as a corporate CEO justifies difficult decisions by claiming his responsibility to act in the interest of his shareholders, you have every right to treat all decisions related to your mortgage as business decisions that must be made to protect your shareholders — your family. Any solution for your mortgage problem, to have real hope for long term success, must be one that truly works for you and your family. LONG TERM and SUSTAINABLE!

Begin With The End In Mind
What is your goal? What’s the target? What exactly do you want/need in order for you to make it?

What is your successful loan modification going to look like?

Take a hard, realistic look at your situation and ask yourself  what changes your bank would need to make in order for you to manage your payment. Keep in mind that if you can get the changes you
need in the form of an affordable payment, the duration of the payment adjustment must provide you enough time to get back on firm financial footing. Otherwise, you will be right back in a bad situation before you know it. So you must have a goal: what changes do you need and how long do you need them?

Win-Win or No Deal
These decisions and clearly defined expectations of your outcome are not easy to make, but they are necessary. By knowing the minimum modification, the minimum amount of time you will settle for, you can move forward knowing that anything less is a waste of time. When you what you want and need you are on your way towards recovery. Just remember, treat it like a business decision. Be realistic, know what you need, and don’t settle for a solution that is not really a solution.

You are NOT the Villain Here
American families are facing more economic difficulty than at any time in the past 70 years. Not since the Great Depression have there been so many families facing serious many financial obstacles.
A large part of the problem was brought on by the financial market excesses of the first six years of the 21st century (2001 thru 2006). Real estate values reached dizzying levels, leading American Families to feel intoxicated by the “wealth effect.” And, everyone wanted in. As prices went up, the mortgage industry came up with new and creative loan programs that made it possible to buy homes that people really couldn’t afford. Make no mistake, these programs were not designed for the common good, these creative loan products were not driven by the desire to increase homeownership for the benefit of society. No, the loans were originated, packaged, sold, chopped up, repackaged and sold again with one thing in mind — quick and substantial profit.

It’s true, many American families may have made choices that were not as responsible as they should have been.  However if the go-go loans had never been created and the call centers and telemarketers pushing the toxic loans never existed, most of those same American families would have continued to live within their means. But instead, the entire mortgage, real estate and banking and investing industries pushed these programs: from loan officers, appraisers, real estate agents and brokers, mortgage bankers, underwriters, Wall Street entrepreneurs and many others all played their parts.

Much of the mortgage mess we are dealing with now is a direct result of a mortgage industry that during those first several years of this century to completely abdicated their responsibility to verify a borrower’s ability to pay when making a mortgage loan.

Traditional mortgage lending, the kind of loans our parents and grandparents got from the local bank, involved a banker working with a borrower to settle on a loan that the borrower could afford. When a borrower wanted to borrow more than they could afford, the local banker would refuse to loan the money.

We are now facing a severe mortgage crisis in America. There is plenty of blame to go around. But, you are not the villain here. You have every right to ask your lender for help, and not feel guilty about it. You should not feel uneasy about telling your lender exactly what you and your family need. And, if the lender won’t work with you, consider your options, free of guilt.

Sustainable Homeownership — Slightly Redefined

There is now near universal agreement among policy makers, mortgage industry executives and community leaders that borrowers who cannot afford them should “not be put in an unsustainable loan.” (quote from John Taylor, president and chief executive of National Community Reinvestment Coalition)
…Which begs the question, was it at some point acceptable to extend loans to borrowers who could not afford them?

Let’s look at the real Sustainable Homeownership issue facing America today. What is the best way to help the millions of American families who are in a mortgage they cannot afford? The answer is simple, (not easy, but simple) help those families work with their lender to either adjust the terms of their loan so they can keep their home, or allow them to sell the property through a short sale without putting them through a meat grinder.

Loan modifications work for many borrowers. Loan modification programs, both private programs and government sponsored programs, have allowed well over a million American families to stay in their home. For those borrowers who have identified what they need from their lender in order to manage their housing costs, the right loan modification can be a real blessing.

Unfortunately not all loan modifications are created equal. The failure rate, often described as the “‘re-default rate”, on loan modifications continues to be very high. Depending on what source you want to believe, loan modifications fail somewhere between 30% and 50% of the time. Now, the positive side of that is it does mean that between 50% and 70% of the time an American family is able to save their home. But, the re-default issue should not be ignored.

So, what is our re-definition of ‘Sustainable Homeownership’ for homeowners with a problem
mortgage?

lf you decide a loan modification is right for you and your families’ situation, do your homework! Make sure you know what you need and don’t accept a non-solution loan modification from your lender. You need a loan modification that will allow you to sustain the payment and a new agreement that allows you to pay off your home. ANYTHING LESS IS A WASTE OF TIME AND IS NOT A REAL SOLUTION!

If your lender will not offer a loan modification on terms that are sustainable, ‘Sustainable Homeownership’ means getting out of the bad mortgage you are in with a minimum amount of damage, by way of a short sale, so you can re-enter the housing market as quickly as possible at a price point that is sustainable, and a payment that is comfortable.  This new definition of ‘sustainable homeownership means you will own an home at a price that will allow you to build wealth, not hold you back.

…to continue reading : Please order a copy of the full 9 section, over twenty page report that includes over 9 sections that include Section 2: Loan Modification Programs, Section 4: What To Do If you Have A Second Mortgage, Section 6: Seven Short Sale Mistakes and Section 9: Step-By-Step Tips for your Loan Mod.

More Questions on your Particular Situation?

Contact us today at Forth Hoyt’s Sacramento Short Sale Center
Or find out here about New Government Foreclosure Prevention Program Eligibility- Which Programs Do You Qualify For?
I am not an attorney, and you should talk to one!! Call for a referral!