As most of the general public knows, Wachovia has been taken over by Wells Fargo recently. The deal is in the process of reaching its final stage.
This is actually a good thing for people who were in the middle of a loan modification dealing with Wachovia or people who bank with Wachovia who may be considering a loan modification.
Wells Fargo is not looking to buy another huge bank and have to deal with all of its pre existing headaches. They want to take over a company with great potential and start over from square one. Therefore they should be much easier to negotiate with and deal with in general than Wachovia would.
That is the good news, the bad news is that loan modifications are still not easy. They can take up to months of hard work, stress, and negotiation, so if you are in trouble with your mortgage and you are thinking about applying for a loan modification, do so soon.
New York is the worlds center for commerce, capitalism, and finance, but they also have their fare share of loan modifications.
One of the best things about having to go through a loan modification in a large communitity is that there are dozens of great options as far as loan modification companies and attorney’s go. I encourage you to read up on a couple of different New york loan modification companies on the internet and ask people who have been through loan modifications with the company about their experience.
In the end, the best way to benefit from a loan modification and have it be a smooth process in general is to work with a company or attorney that you are comfortable with and who is looking out for your best interest.
There are thousands of loan modifications each year in New York, especially lately with the downturn in the real estate market, so do not feel as if “you are the only one” who is going through a tough financial time.
What is the purpose of a loan modification?
The main goal of a loan modification is to allow the homeowner to lower his or her monthly payments to make them more affordable for a short period of time.
Who wins in a successfuly loan modification?
Everyone, really. The homeowner obviously wins because they save their home from foreclosure and are able to only have to pay a fraction of their previous monthly mortgage payments until they get back on their feet.
The loan modification attorney/ company wins because they get a small share of the value of the mortgage in fees, usually about one or two percent.
The bank wins because they do not have to foreclose on the home. As I’m sure you know, foreclosed homes are a tough sell and usually only end up selling at pennies on the dollar at what they are actually worth. Banks will usually do everything they can do avoid foreclosures.
How long do loan modifications take? From start to finish, you are probably looking at a maximum of 2 months, which is reasonable.
In a perfect world, there would be no fraud. There would be no greedy homeowners looking to reduce their monthly mortgage payments even though they do not really have to have them lowered. There would be no greedy loan modification attorney’s looking to rip off a homeowner who is barely able to afford his or her house. And there would be no stringent banks that refuse to help out honest homeowner’s who have fallen upon hard times.
Do not get me wrong, the majority of loan modifciation dealings are 100% fraud free, but the 20% that are not give the 80% that are legitimate a bad name.
I saw a statistic that stated that up to 75% of loan modification companies are scammers, I was surprised to hear that the number was that high but I certainly was not shocked.
The best way to avoid loan modification fraud is to be 100% upfront and honest with your lender and to only work with trustworthy people who have a solid reputation in the field. Trust me, you do not want to be taken advantaged of during a loan modification dealing.