Foreclosure Assistance Programs
Here are options available to you if you are looking to stay in your home.
Long-term Mortgage Assistance with a Loan Modification
The most popular program, a Loan Modification is a change to an existing loan to a more affordable level by a lender in response to a borrower's long-term inability to repay it. Loan modifications typically involve a reduction in the principal balance, interest rate or an extension of the length of the term of the loan, or a combination of the three. You may qualify if you have recovered from a hardship and can afford the new payment amount. Most lenders can work with home owners, even if they have poor credit and have a foreclosure date since they do not want your home.
Temporary Mortgage Assistance with a Forbearance Agreement
Depending on your situation, your bank may offer you a solution to repay your missed payments and avoid foreclosure with a Mortgage Forbearance Agreement. This agreement is made between a mortgage lender and delinquent borrower in which the lender agrees not to exercise its legal right to foreclose on a mortgage and the borrower agrees to a mortgage plan that will, over a certain time period, bring the borrower current on their payments. A Mortgage Forbearance Agreement is a temporary solution for delinquent borrowers designed for borrowers who have short-term financial problems caused by an unforeseen hardship such as health problems or unemployment. Usually Mortgage Forbearance Agreements allow a minimum of 4 months to postpone monthly mortgage payments, all the way up to 12 monthly payments at the maximum.
If your lender has not set new policies yet and you
are facing an immediate mortgage crisis, call your
lender and work with them to create a payment plan. Be
aware that a forbearance often just delays payments
down the road. So while you might not be able to pay a
mortgage for several months, when that time period is
over, you could be expected to pay all the missed
payments as well as the current one in a lump sum
balloon payment if they are servicing the loan for
another lender or able to add it to the end of the loan
if they originated it.
Principal Reduction
A Principal Reduction is a process whereby your loan modification attorney assists in negotiating down the total amount of the principal that you owe on the loan to reflect current value of the property. Usually the interest rate is reduced to current market rates and your monthly mortgage payment is lower.
However a Principal Reduction is difficult because the bank or lender is not making as much profit, and may even avoid mentioning principal reduction as an option. Just a $200 a month reduction equals tens of thousands of dollars less profit for the bank over the life of the mortgage.
ATTENTION: we do not give out money and these programs are not
for mobile homes and/or renters. We cannot help people if their
mortgage is with Quicken Loans or Rocket Mortgage.
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