Mortgage Easier To Qualify For Than A Mortgage Modification

By Author: Nick Adama
Total Articles: 197
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Despite all of the incentives that banks seemingly have to work with foreclosure victims to modify loans, most attempts at loss mitigation are still a huge waste of time for homeowners, lenders, and third parties representing them. This is due to a number of factors, with both banks and borrowers having roles in the failure to work out solutions to foreclosure and to keep on top of payment plans over the long term.

One reason that loss mitigation attempts often fail is that it is a very labor-intensive process. Getting a mortgage modification approved by a bank or servicing company can take many more hours than expected, as lenders are currently swamped with foreclosures and calls asking for assistance. If homeowners are not willing to put in the necessary work or pay for someone to do it for them, loss mitigation attempts often fail.

Unfortunately, much of the work to modify a loan is simply waiting for the lender to perform one task or another. It is not uncommon to spend two to three hours on hold, simply waiting for the loss mitigation representative to pick up to confirm a fax or begin negotiating. Voicemails ...
... and emails, of course, are rarely answered, and phone calls from homeowners or their representatives may be disconnected numerous times.

The staff of the servicing companies and lenders are typically either incompetent or belligerent when working with homeowners, and few productive results are gained from speaking with them. Almost no one who has had to wait on hold for an hour and then speak with a loss mitigation representative who is unable to confirm a fax was received is impressed with the quality of service offered to homeowners facing foreclosure.

But also, the lack of service from the loss mitigation department of a lender may reflect the lack of specific guidelines for modifying loans. This is a responsibility of the investors and holders of the mortgages, but the securitization of huge numbers of home loans over the past decade has made it almost impossible to know for sure who owns a particular mortgage, let alone how the owners would want it modified.

Of course, this is not to say that it is impossible to modify a mortgage or negotiate an alternative to foreclosure, but homeowners should be aware of just how much work is involved and how little help the servicing companies are when negotiating. Working out a solution to stop foreclosure can often be more difficult than applying for the mortgage in the first place.
Nick publishes articles on how property owners can prevent foreclosure on their own. His site describes various methods to do this, including foreclosure refinancing, loan modification, deed in lieu, and more. Visit the site to download several e-books explaining various aspects of how foreclosure works: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/