Loan Modification – Stay In Your Home
Although the “Short Sale” has become a well-known solution for borrowers to avoid foreclosure by selling their home for less than what is owed, the “Home Loan Modification” (Loan Modification) is becoming a popular tool for borrowers to retain their home, lower their principal balance and most importantly, lower their monthly payment
What’s a Home Loan Modification?
This process is similar to a short sale but, instead of the property being sold, it is refinanced with a new lender. A Home Loan Modification is unique in that it allows the borrowers to keep their home, lower their payments and eliminate the upside down equity in their homes by reducing their principal balance.
The transaction itself is basically a three-part process. Negotiations are done by us, the Advocate, in conjunction with the borrower and the lien holder. First, we need to establish the actual current value of the home. Next, we run the FHA approval on your borrower at the maximum LTV for that new value and issue an approval. Now, armed with our comps at current market value and our approval, WE enter into equity re-negotiations with the bank/loan servicer for a discount on the current mortgage. Once the bank/loan servicer accepts the offer presented, we can complete the new loan transaction.
THIS IS NOT THE HOPE FOR HOME OWNERS PROGRAM AND DOES NOT CARRY ANY OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS!!!
Who should get a Loan Modification?
For those borrowers who still have decent credit, FICO, income and no mortgage lates, but due to a decline in the value of their home (owing more than it’s worth), a Short-Pay Refi is the perfect solution. This allows the borrowers to put the brakes on before everything gets away from them and spins out of control. After the transaction is complete and the lien holder is paid off, it’s up to that lien holder as to how they are going to rate the paid-off mortgage to the credit bureaus. Depending on the lender, it may be filed as: Paid In Full, Settled, Charged-off, Paid for Less than Balance, etc.
Why would the bank/loan servicer agree to a Short Pay Refinance and not just foreclose on the property?
Banks/Loan Servicer books are becoming swamped with REOs, so now they’re more open to negotiations than ever. Remember, foreclosing on a property requires large amounts of legal fees and then the home is typically sold at a substantial discount off of the fair market value by the bank. The Short-Payoff Refinance allows the loan servicer to avoid a majority of the legal fees and lets the new lender make its largest loan based on the fair market value. In most cases, a Loan Modification can’t solve the problem as many loan servicers are not lenders; a Short-Pay Refi becomes a very powerful alternative. Loan Modification put borrowers in better positions than standard loan modifications because aside from lowering the payment, they also lower the principal balance with an FHA insured loan.
We can make the difference between saving your home and losing your home!
