Shirley Kistler's Real Estate Blog: Serving your Real Estate Needs in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado Counties » Financial Services

Tips when applying for Loan Modification

Shirley Kistler — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:00:29 +0000

The following tips were given by Stephfan Nurse, CEO of Consumer Education, makers of mortgage reduction software designed to help people thru the modification process:

1) When faxing or sending in your paperwork to your lender, make sure that your loan number is printed on every page you are sending in. Lenders received thousands of papers a day and sometimes the cover sheet gets lost or the fax gets misplaced. If you have the loan number on every page, they can make sure it gets in your file.

2) Make sure that ALL of the requested paperwork is included in the file. If you are missing just one required document, they will show your account is incomplete and your file sometimes goes to the bottom of the pile.

3) Follow up every week with your lender to make sure all of the documents they have are up to date. Don’t worry about being a pest; this usually keeps your file moving along.

These tips are the same tips we use when submitting Short Sales. The complete packages move along much quicker then the packages submitted with missing documents. Some lenders even tell us to keep sending in pay stubs and bank statements so the file is kept current at all times.

Loan Modification Hardship Letter Tips (mademan.com)
Home Loan Modification Requirements (mademan.com)

Watch out for these Credit Repair Scams

Shirley Kistler — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:00:34 +0000

So you have decided to purchase a home and have reviewed a copy of your credit report. You have noticed that you have some items that you need credit repair to remove from your credit report. I would strongly recommend using a credit repair company that you have previously used or have been referred to by either a loan officer or someone who has previously used a credit repair agency. The following information was furnished by the Federal Trade Commission.

Unfortunately, there are a few scams out there that you need to be aware of:

The company wants you to pay for credit repair services before providing any services. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies cannot require you to pay until they have completed the services they have promised.
The company doesn’t tell you your rights and what you can do yourself for free.
The company recommends that you DO NOT contact the three national credit report companies directly.
The company tells you they can get rid of most or all of the negative credit information in your credit report, even if it is accurate.
The company suggests that you try to invent a “new” credit identity and then, a new credit report by applying for an Employer Idenification Number to use instead of your Social Security Number.
The company advises you to dispute all of the information in your credit report, regardless of its accuracy or timelines.

FTC Tips for Avoiding Credit Repair Scams (creditrepair.org)

1/3 of Americans Unlikely to Qualify for a Mortgage Today

Shirley Kistler — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:00:10 +0000

According to an analysis of more than 25,000 loan quotes and purchase request on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace during the first half of September; almost 1/3 of Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage because their credit scores are too low.

They found that 29.3% of borrowers have a credit score less than 620. The lowest rates went to 47% of borrowers with excellent credit scores of 720 or above.

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace quoted that during this period, borrowers with excellent scores got an average rate of 4.3% for conventional 30 year mortgages. Mid range borrowers with credit scores between 620 and 719 received rates between 4.73% and 4.44%. Those with credit scores below 620 received too few loans to calculate the interest rates received.

For each 20-point credit score increase, the average annual percentage rate (APR) declines 0.12%.

One-third ‘highly unlikely’ to get mortgage (money.blogs.time.com)

Home Affordable Modification Program Modifications down 27%

Shirley Kistler — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:00:26 +0000

Image by TheTruthAbout... via Flickr

New data was released on 9/22/10 by Treasury and HUD on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Just over 33,000 homeowners received a PERMANENT HAMP modification in August, 2010. This figure is down 27% below the number of PERMANENT HAMP modifications in July, 2010.

The borrowers whom received the PERMANENT HAMP modifications have seen their mortgage payments drop by a median of 36%, or more than $500 per month. Homeowner’s who received these modifications saw their housing expenses fall from 45% to 31% of their monthly income.

In August, 2010, 26,628 TRIAL HAMP modifications were added to the HAMP roster. Currently there are 202,521 active trial modifications. Federal officials are pushing the loan servicers to make decisions for borrowers who have completed the trial phase and either drop them from the program or make them permanent modifications.

The Treasury stated that the most of the cancellations are due to insufficient documents received or missed or late trial payments. In addition, if their principal housing expenses are already less than 31% they do not qualify for the program.

22% of private mortgage mods redefault (money.cnn.com)
Home Affordable Modification Program (flowerblossoms.wordpress.com)

Bank Owned Properties on the Decrease?

Shirley Kistler — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:00:21 +0000

Mortgage defaults in California have fallen to their lowest level in three years, market researcher MDA DataQuick said Wednesday. In the Sacramento region, home defaults have dropped 38 percent in the past year.

Some of the drop-off may reflect an increase in short sales, in which troubled homeowners sidestep the foreclosure process but still lose their homes. But experts said it’s also a sign of a housing market that’s genuinely improving.