Mortgage Loan Modifications - What Are They & Who Qualifies

Mortgage Loan Modifications - What Are They &restructure the financing in order to avoid losing their
Who Qualifieshomes.
There is a lot of talk these days about mortgage loanA true loan modification is a permanent solution that
modifications. Visit Hereserves the best interests of the investor who owns
The Treasuryand the FDIC are both strongthe loan as well as the homeowner. They result in a
proponents of widespread loan modifications.reduction of the mortgage payment to a level that the
Lenders do NOT want to take back anyone's home ifhomeowner can afford on an ongoing basis, and that
they can avoid it. They have already taken back sowill allow the homeowner to stay in their home. This is
many they are having a hard time dealing with thedifferent from a repayment plan or forebearance
disposition of those homes already. Distressed sales ofwhich are typically short term solutions used to resolve
REO properties are a major anchor that is pullingtemporary problems.
home values relentlessly lower which puts moreLoan modifications do NOT require appraisals, credit
homeowners in a negative equity position and increasereports, or title reports because they are simply
the risk of even more defaults and foreclosures.renegotiations of the terms on an existing Note... they
When a homeowner cannot make the payments onare NOT a refinance.
their mortgage there are only three possible outcomes:A loan modification can consist of a reduction in the
1) The property goes back to the lender throughinterest rate, a change from fully amortized to Interest
foreclosure or deed-in-lieu and the property goes backOnly payments for 5 to 7 years, an extension of the
on the marketloan term, a reduction of the principal balance of the
2) The homeowner sells the home in a conventionalloan (this is rare), and a resolution of any arrearages
sale or a short sale and the home goes back on the(usually by adding them to the loan balance).
marketThere are 6 specific reasons why Loan Modifications
3) The lender modifies the loan so the homeownerare BY FAR the best solution to the current
can make the payments and the home does not goforeclosure crisis...
back on the market1. Loan Modifications keep families in their homes
Loan modifications are BY FAR the best solution for2. Loan Modifications ease the financial pressure that
the lender, the homeowner, and the country intears families apart
situations were they can work.3. Loan Modifications are the least cost solution to the
So What Is A Loan Modification?lenders... that's why they are doing so many of them.
A loan modification is a mutual agreement by the4. Loan Modifications keep the house off the market
lender and the borrower change in the terms of theand therefore each loan modification represents a
loan. In the residential mortgage industry they are beingstep closer to the solution to the current crisis.
done on a large scale to allow homeowners to5. Loan Modifications are a market solution...