Arizona Mortgage Loan Modification Scams is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Are there really Arizona mortgage loan modification scams happening?

Uh… yep.

I was in touch with someone yesterday who had just paid $5,000 up front to a loan modification company and he called me asking me if I thought that he had done the right thing.

He may have been somewhat surprised when I told him “don’t take this the wrong way, but I have never heard of the loan modification company that you are telling me about and $5,000 up front is a lot of money to pay compared with I see as a ‘normal’ charge.”

He then indicated that he thought something seemed a little strange when he tried to get a refund of his $5,000 and they were hesitant to give him one.

Check, check and check. It seemed to me like it had all of the elements of a scam.

Are you wondering who to call that can possibly help you work with your current lender to get your loan modified? We have started a list of Arizona loan modification companies that seem to be getting good results for their clients.

Oh, and I have actually heard of them and been to their offices before.

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Arizona Loan Modification: Ask These 5 Questions Before Hiring A Loan Modification Firm is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

I have spoken with quite a few people recently who have asked me the question “how do I know who to hire to help me get my loan modification done?”

If you are currently thinking of hiring an Arizona loan modification company or loan modification lawyer to help you with your loan modification, here are five simple questions designed to help you identify the “good” loan modification companies from the “bad” loan modification companies.

Arizona Loan Modification: How do you know if you can help me?

Before you say *anything* about your situation, ask this question. Most of the time, the person shopping for a loan modification will be so upset about their situation, they will look for someone to listen to them explain their situation first.

Resist the temptation.

Ask the loan modification company “how do you know if you can help me” first and let them do the talking. Let them explain how the identify how they know if they can help you or not, what they look for in order to know if they can help someone and what they have seen as far as results.

The more information that you can get from them up front, before you tell them about your situation, the more you will get a good idea if they really know what they are doing.

Arizona Loan Modification: Do you have three references of people who live in Arizona that you have helped get their loan modified?

Don’t miss this question and be sure to follow up and speak with their references first.

You will learn more from the three references they give you than you will from talking to anyone at the firm. You will learn what the process was like, how the company was to work with and what their overall impression of “was it worth it” was?

Arizona Loan Modification: Do you plan to use violations of law in my current loan as leverage up front or later on in the process?

In loan modification, there is an “easy way” to get it done and a “hard way”. The easy way is that the loan modification company starts talking with your lender and negotiates out a loan modification – just based on “what kind of monthly payment you can afford based on hardship”. Many times, the “easy” loan modifications are done in a matter of minutes and really don’t involve any kind of negotiation – because there is not a principal reduction involved – just a modification of payments.

For some situations, this type of loan modification is fine.

But for other situations – for example – for those people who are hundreds of thousands of dollars upside down in their home… “the hard way” may yield better results. “The hard way” involves the loan modification legal staff going through your documents that you signed when you got the loan and looking for violations of law. Many loans have these violations and “the hard way” involves using these violations as negotiation for a principal reduction or even a complete rescission – meaning your entire loan is rescinded and you will no longer even have a mortgage.

Arizona Loan Modification: How Much Do You Charge?

Note that this is not the first question to ask.

How much a company charges is an important consideration, but it is not the most important. The most important thing to consider is whether or not they can be successful at getting your loan modified and the question of “how much do you charge” tells you nothing about if they will be successful or not.

In general – expect a fee up front (generally ranging from zero to $3,000) and a fee if they are successful (generally 1-2% of your loan amount) and remember – if someone offers to do it for no money up front but doesn’t end up getting your loan modified, it is more expensive than if you paid $3,000 up front and a 2% of your loan amount as a success fee.

Arizona Loan Modification: Can you tell me what to expect in my situation when working with <insert your lender>?

Listening to the answer to this question will tell you something about their overall experience. If they say that they have never worked with your particular lender before… it is a sign that they probably don’t have a lot of experience yet.

If they tell you that they have a dedicated person to work with them at your lender – it is a sign that the “easy way” kind of modification will be easy – but “the hard way” is still going to be “the hard way” even if they have a dedicated person because it is going to involve attorneys fighting with other attorneys.

If you are currently looking into hiring a firm to help you get your Arizona loan modification done, by asking these 5 questions, you will be in a much better position to identify the “good” from the “bad”. And if you are in a situation where a loan modification is an option for you, you can’t afford not to invest the time to choose wisely.

Learn How To Do Your Own Loan Modification Without The Help of a Loan Modification Company

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Arizona Loan Modification: Refinance or Loan Modification? is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Many times each day, I am asked the question of “does it make more sense to refinance my current loan or do a loan modification?

My answer?

“It depends.”

If you are currently in a conventional loan and owe more than your house is worth, your refinance options don’t exist if you owe more than your house is worth.  You are pretty much stuck in the loan program that you are currently in and can’t take advantage of lower interest rates to get a lower payment.

If you are in this situation, loan modification probably makes the most sense.

When choosing a loan modification company to work with, realize that each loan modification company is different – even though they functionally all try to accomplish the same task – to “modify the terms of your loan” and hopefully leave you in a better position than what you started with.

Each loan modification company has their own process. Each loan modification company charges different fees. Each loan modification company has different success rates. Each loan modification company will probably tell you that they are the “best in the business”.

How do you pick one?

Very carefully.

If it were me, I would probably choose a loan modification with no up front fees and a success fee only if they are successful in modifying the terms of your loan. Do they exist? Yes.  But you have to know where to look!

Learn How To Do Your Own Loan Modification Without The Help of a Loan Modification Company

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Arizona Loan Modification: Can You Get A Loan Modification If You Are Current On Your Payments? is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

As I speak with people every day, I am hearing a question being asked more often than I can remember in the past:

“Can I get a loan modification if I am current on my payments?”

The answer?

It depends.

I think that it is probably safe to say that most lenders are currently not modifying your loan if you are current on your payments.  Now that I have said that, I am sure that there are examples where people have been able to get their loan modified and never have to miss a payment.

From what I can gather, one key to getting a loan modification done is to keep trying – even after the lender has told you no.  The other key to getting a loan modification done is to find and hire a reputable loan modification attorney who can help you negotiate a loan modification with your lender.

Do you have to hire a loan modification attorney to get a loan modification done?

No.

But from what I can tell, it seems like it helps your chances of getting a loan modification done.

Also, here is how you can learn how to do your own loan modification without the help of a loan modification company.

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