Tag Archives: home
Bank of America Loan Modification – Five Steps to Approval
Does paying your high monthly mortgage payment cause you stress or make you worry? Have you been thinking that you could get a better deal, like a Bank of America loan modification period? The Bank of America is known nationwide as a lending bank that is currently offering renegotiations for some of its borrowers. There are things you can make it easier for the Bank of America to approve your application. If you meet certain requirements, you can have your mortgage payments reduced. Before beginning these negotiations, follow these five steps.
1. Read and learn what the Bank of America requires in order to approve a loan modification. In order to be approved, you need to have a certain amount of disposable income and a specific debt to income ratio.
2. Get the paperwork in order. The bank officer will want to review all your documents in order to determine your qualifications. Make sure you have all the required documents before applying, as this will allow everything to proceed without delay. Improper or incorrect paperwork could also result in rejection of your application.
3. You must have a Hardship Letter. This letter must be convincing, compelling and clearly outline that you have or will suffer serious hardship if you have to continue paying your current monthly payments. There are three important parts to a Hardship Letter so make sure you find out what they are.
4. Be prepared, be accurate and complete the Bank of America loan modification application properly. Everything you write will be or could be checked. Include all important information, honestly, to make sure there is no reason for anyone to reject your application.
5. Be persistent and patient. It is not unusual for it to take eight weeks before the Bank of America will approve a loan modification application. If you are rejected, don’t take no for an answer. Through diligence, determination and focused persistence some homeowners have been able to have their rejection changed to an approval. This is your home you are fighting for, and success in this process will result in you keeping it.
If you follow this process are diligent, honest and thorough in completing your application; and you are persistent you might yourself approved for a Bank of America loan modification. Take the time that is needed. Put your energy into completing the application properly. Know what the bank requires in order to give an approval. If you don’t know something, ask, so you can complete the application properly. Seek and accept help and you might be able to keep your home. Just like so many other homeowners have been able to do, you can find a way to keep your home too!
How to Protect Your Home From Medicaid Reimbursement
All people wait for that red-letter day when they make their final mortgage payment. They look forward to owning their home without encumbrances. As long as property taxes are paid, their most valuable asset is safe. The property can be passed on to their heirs.
But let us not forget the Medicaid reimbursement official with a lien, ready to seize your treasured asset. Under the laws of most states they have the right to seek reimbursement for Medicaid payments. As long as you live in your home it is exempt from recovery. The moment you enter a nursing home, that protection is gone.
If you are married, your house will be exempted as long as your spouse lives in it. But if the spouse dies, the state can place a lien on your home. Then you can neither sell it nor refinance it without reimbursing the state for your Medicaid payments. If a situation arises where what you owe equals the equity in your house, your heirs will receive nothing from the sale of your home. To avoid such a situation, the following safeguards can be taken.
Obtain long term care insurance. It pays for in-home care like a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility, so that Medicaid need not be resorted to. Statistics reveal that 69 percent of Americans who reach 65 will need long term care at some stage.
Gift your home to your children or loved ones. A lien cannot be imposed by the state on a home which is not yours. The gift has to be made more than 60 months before you enter a long term care facility. The recipient might have tax implications.
Your home can be transferred with a special power of appointment. The transfer could become effective immediately or after you die. If this is done, the state is kept away.
Consult an attorney who specializes in elder law.