How to Get Your Loan Modified

With the current economic condition isn't America, it is hard to find someone show is not hurting financially.  The biggest problem for most of us is our mortgages.  We have been told by the Obama Administration that help is on the way, but is it really?  I mean, it has been almost a year now and getting your mortgage company to actually modify your loan has seemed almost impossible.  They seem to be using delaying tactic after delaying tactic.

Well, it seems that help has finally arrived.  I have been trying to modify my mortgage for over 9 months now and I finally got results.  What did I do?  Well, I was persistent!  It seems that over the past 30 days now, more and more mortgage companies are hopping on the Loan Modification band-wagon.  If you're wondering what to expect, here is a quick summary of my experience:

• January, 2009 - As is the case with most Americans, my home value is underwater, I am paying more on my mortgage that my house is worth, and my job laid off hundreds of workers and cut the pay of the survivors.  With my reduced income, increased living expenses, and no way to refinance my house, I decided to contact My Mortgage Company. Their answer?  We are not yet participating in this but are looking in to it.
• March 2009 - Called again.  Response:  We will have something available soon.
•  June 2009 - Called again.  Response: Visit our website and fill out the affordability calculator.  If you qualify, contact us and we will add your name to the list of potential loan modifications once the program is available.  I qualified, added my name to their list.  Waited......
• August 2009 - Called again.  Response:  Still waiting for the Loan Modification program to be approved through our leadership.
• September 2009 - Called Again.  Response:  Please fill out the form on our website and, should you qualify, we will get started on the process.

YES!  So, I filled out their automated form (very in-depth), and within 2 days the status showed that the application was being processed.  In fact, it only took them 2 weeks to call me back with a proposal for modifying both my principal loan amount and my interest rate.

We are now in the process of modifying our loan to a MUCH more affordable payment.  They offered to knock about 30% of the Principal off of the loan, and on top of that reduce the interest rate to a low, low 5.0%.  Our payment is now about 40% of what we were paying.  Granted, the schedule allows the interest rate to increase over time, but our payment maxes out at 70% of our previous amount, 5 years from now.

So, there is hope.  I also contacted my mother-in-laws mortgage company and they are modifying loans now too.  It seems that the program is finally being utilized by the mortgage companies and it couldn't have come sooner.  Thank you Obama!