Tag Archives: mortgage

Loan Modification Tips and Tricks to Deal With Your Lender (Page 1 of 3)

Loan Modification Tips and Tricks to Deal With Your Lender By Moe Bedard of www.LoanSafe.org

Are you having trouble with your mortgage? Has it adjusted and you cannot afford the new payment? Were you placed into a bad loan and you can’t refinance into a good one?

The first thing that a homeowner should do is identify that the mortgage on their current property is a lawful one. Meaning that there are no Truth in Lending Act Violations or RESPA violations and there wasn’t fraud involved on behalf of the lender or broker that originated your loan. When you are trying to stop foreclosure, you need to have as much ammo as you can to go up against your lender.

With that said, let’s go over some essential tips that might help you save your home.

1 Homeowner Tip = Have an experienced mortgage attorney examine your loan documents for these potential violations.

2 Homeowner Tip The homeowner needs a complete written life of loan history to see all the bogus charges and fees included in their mortgage balance. Also, the homeowner should make sure that any inflated appraisal and/or loss of property value is calculated into the workout.

Red Flags and Things to Look Out For in Your Loan:

Start by comparing the loan you got with the one you thought you were getting. Are the terms the same? That is, is your Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”) the same as the one you were quoted? Are your total monthly payments the same as you were told they would be? Is there a prepayment penalty, and if so, were you told about this prepayment penalty?

If you have refinanced your primary residence, that is, the home your currently live in, then the first thing you should look at is the “notice of Right to Cancel” which is also called the Three Day Right of Rescission. You usually has three days after signing loan documents to change your mind and cancel the loan.

The borrower must be told of this right in writing.

If the creditor fails to properly provide notice of this right to cancel, the right of rescission may be extended for up to three years.

When the right is extended for three years you can rescind the loan at any time before three years, meaning that the loan is treated as if it never existed. Essentially, you become entitled to all profits made by the creditor as a result of this loan. This means that the creditor must refund all interest paid, all closing fees, all broker fees, and even pay for your attorney fees. As you can imagine, this amount can be quite significant.

The extended right of rescission is a powerful tool to help borrowers who have been victims of predatory lending, and helping our clients exercise this right is often the first step in holding a creditor responsible for illegal behavior.

If it is determined that no laws have been violated on your mortgage, then it’s time to approach your lender for a possible loan workout or loan modification.

Are you ready to be a homeowner?

There is certainly no doubt that everybody wants to own a home. To not have to pay rent, to have some equity, and, hopefully, to have something that actually builds value over time, perhaps providing you with a sufficient fund for when you reach retirement. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that it is a home that you own.

Home ownership is a dream for most people, there is no doubt about that. Today, that dream is more accessible to more people than it has typically been in the past. However, not everybody is ready to own a home.

There are a lot of things to consider before taking that first step towards home ownership. Buying a home can be a great experience, but it is always a large responsibility, so you really need to stop and consider whether or not it’s a responsibility that you’re willing to take on right now.

In an effort to help you reach that decision carefully, we’ll provide you with a simple checklist for the potential new home owner. Consider these to be some basic questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I ready and able to settle down?

“Settling down” might not mean “permanently”. It’s certainly possible to buy a home, sell it, and move within a few years time. However, you need to consider whether or not your lifestyle really accommodates home ownership. Do you spend most of the year travelling for work? If so, buying a home might not be top priority. Rather, it may be wiser to start saving and investing so that you can afford a home when you’re ready.

2. Do I want the added responsibility of paying off a mortgage?

To be perfectly frank, it is possible to arrange a mortgage deal that will have you paying less per month than many people pay simply to rent an apartment. However, the consequences for failing to make mortgage payments on a timely, regular basis can be more severe than the consequences for being late making rent on an apartment. Simply put, a home owner’s credit is on the line.

3. Can I afford a home?

The recession and the housing crisis have been difficult on everyone. If you are one of the many struggling to make ends meet, then we refer to point two: Taking out a mortgage will only compound your problems, not solve them.

We don’t mean to scare anyone away from pursuing the dream of buying their first home, we simply want to make clear the weight of the responsibilities home ownership carries.

All of this considered, if you are in fact ready to become a home owner, then by all means, do a little research and find a home loan deal that will work for you. Just bear in mind that the key word there is ‘research’. Once you’ve decided to become a home owner, you still have a number of decisions lying ahead of you, so make sure to educate yourself and make the choices that will help you achieve your goals.