Avoid Foreclosure by Getting a Loan Modification

Many homeowners these days are facing tough economic times and are finding it increasingly more and more difficult to make ends meet. As unemployment rates around the country continue to spiral upward, homeowners are facing the sobering reality of possibly losing their homes. Many do not know how to avoid foreclosure. Banks are not really cooperating as they should and there are many reasons for that, but the big reason is that banks are not in the business of saving people money. They are huge, heartless corporations and could care less about anything but making money. This is the awful truth but the sooner that homeowners realize this, the faster they will realize that they cannot go directly to their lender to get a loan modification.

There are many reputable, licensed companies that offer loan modification services and you can find them by searching for them on the internet. You can also check up on them easily by going to the department of real estate site and checking their license status and see if there are any complaints or cases against them. You can also go to the Better Business Bureau (also online) and check to make sure there are no complaints. These companies do charge a fee, though most are not allowed to charge an upfront fee. That does not mean that they have to complete the modification before they get paid. It just means that they have to perform some services before they can charge anything. Again, you can check a companys history and reputation fairly easily.

It is recommended that homeowners employ the services of these professional loan modification experts if they wish to avoid foreclosure. Many homeowners will think they are saving money by going directly to the lending institution and requesting a loan modification but they are taking a big risk. Most banks have very small Loss Mitigation departments and they are overwhelmed with requests from homeowners and from the loan modification companies. Most of the time, homeowners try and follow the steps provided by their lender but without guidance they may not indicate the correct amount of income or allowable deductions, or miss some of the numerous required documentation. When the loss mitigation department personnel open a file that is incomplete they may just automatically decline the modification request or request updated information. Most homeowners do not have the time or patience to follow through with all of these requests and so they just stop trying or they get discouraged once they are declined.

To avoid foreclosure and get a low monthly payment that they can afford they need to be patient and persistent. By going to a professional, reputable company they can avoid the pitfalls of going directly to their lender themselves.