This reading is for you or anyone you may know who is looking for a way out of their home loan nightmare. The media buzzes daily with promises of all sorts, only aiding in the confusion experienced by homeowners.
To help you navigate between truth and fiction, I have compiled the following.
1
You must be behind on your payments to qualify for a loan modification.
This belief is patently false. However, the reason why this belief exists is because it was once true. Before the U.S. government got involved, most banks could not be convinced that you were suffering a financial hardship (and thus warranting their attention as a default risk) unless you were one, two or three payments behind. This is no longer true. On March 3, 2009, the U.S. government passed the Making Home Affordable plan to help fill some of the gaps in the process. One of those gaps was to assist homeowners who were experiencing financial hardship but were hanging onto their credit with everything they had, while keeping their payments current. In fact, under the government plan you must be current to qualify.
I would never advise anyone with good credit to deliberately damage it by falling behind on their payments simply in the hope that it will increase their chances of obtaining a loan modification.
2
If you qualify under the government criteria, then your lender must modify your loan.
The U.S. Making Home Affordable plan is just that -- a plan. The plan is not a law that obliges lenders to modify all qualifying persons’ loans. The government plan provides the lender with a financial incentive to offer loan modifications to persons who qualify under the plan’s criteria. If you are current on your payments, occupy the property as your primary residence, obtained your loan before January 1, 2009 and meet some other basic criteria, then you are a candidate for the program. If the lender approves your loan modification, then the lender receives a cash-back of close to $2,250 (depending on circumstances) for having approved your loan. It is neither obligated to do so, nor is it obligated to take the government assistance money.
3
My loan must be a FannieMae or Freddiemac loan to qualify for a loan modification.
In the early days of the government plan, both lenders and homeowners alike strove to digest its terms, causing much confusion. One of the most common misconceptions was that your loan must have originally been processed or backed by one of the above-mentioned loan giants in order to qualify under the loan modification plan. This is not true. The government’s plan has two programs; one offering assistance with loan modifications, and the other with refinances. Your loan need not be a FannieMae- or FreddieMac-backed loan in order to qualify for a loan modification. However, if you plan to apply for a refinance under the government plan, then the above requirement applies.
The government plan for refinances was designed to assist those homeowners who were close to qualifying for a refinance but fell short by about 25 percent.
4
A loan modification will reduce the principal owed on the loan.
In a loan modification situation, this scenario is so rare that expecting it would simply be foolish. Please do not expect the first mortgage holder on your home to forgive the principal on your loan. If someone is promising you that it can be done, be careful. Is it unheard of? No. Is it extremely unlikely? YES.
Again, it’s not impossible. However, lenders are far more inclined to forgive principal on your second mortgage, and then only in a short sale situation (where you are selling your home, not simply attempting to modify your loan).
Lenders can and will do many adjustments to the principal to reduce your monthly payment. One of the most common things that lenders do to the principal in a loan modification is to defer payment of a large portion of the principal to the maturity date of the loan (i.e a balloon payment) with no interest accruing on that principal.
5
Under a loan modification, the lender will only consider the income of the debtor.
I have had countless numbers of people ask if the bank would only consider the income of the individual named on the loan. The straight answer is “No.” In reviewing your application for a loan modification, the bank will consider the total income of the household. If your spouse works, then their income is considered. It doesn’t matter if you are the only one on the loan and the only one on title to the property. The bank will ask for the total income of all adults contributing to the household’s income. If there are adult children who work and contribute, their income will be considered too. Understand that your lender will review your tax returns and determine the total income of the household by your (most likely) jointly filed tax return.
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