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Loan Modification Companies How They Work
If you are searching the internet for loan modification companies, this article will help you narrow down your search by teaching you what to look for.
Loan modification companies are used when a homeowner is struggling to make his/her payments and needs help. This can be caused by a loss of income, a type of hardship or an increase in your interest rate resulting in higher monthly payments. I know I suffered from a combination of all three of these at one point. I was in construction, my daughter needed two eye surgeries that were not covered by our insurance and my interest skyrocketed when my loan adjusted causing my payments to double. Yes, double!
The perfect candidate for a loan modification is someone who has higher interest rates, an adjustable loan and still has an income coming in. These tend to get approved quite easily.
So, what does a loan modification company do? Well, instead of you calling your lender and trying to resolve the problem with your loan yourself, they handle this for you. It is a very complex process that can take months to resolve and if you don’t get it right you’ll get denied. Or, even worse, if you don’t know what you are doing you could actually get a loan modification that does you no or little good and you’ll be stuck in it. There are no second chances with these.
It just makes sense to hire a professional in these cases and get the best possible resolution. If an experience loan modification company can get you a 4% fixed for 40 years loan and you get your current adjustable rate frozen for 3-5 more years, the difference in your payments each month with be substantial and the difference over the life of your loan will be tremendous!
The problem is, the press tends to highlight the negative aspects of loan modification companies. You never here stories on the news about a good company that just saved someone $800 a month on their mortgage payment! Instead, you here the exact opposite where some company took a homeowners hard earned money and didn’t accomplish anything. Both of these situations happen all the time, so you need to know what to look for in a good company.
Here are some tips:
1. Make sure they are licensed by the DRE in whatever state they are operating out of. They need to have a license or be an attorney to take payments for negotiating loan mods.
2. Just because someone is an attorney does not mean they are honest! Find out the attorneys name and check their bar status and see if you find any complaints against them. If there are excessive complaints you may want to think twice – especially if they are related to loan modification.
3. Choose a company that makes the most sense! Talk to a few different companies. Don’t make any rash decisions! If one company is just pushing for you to pay them and promises things that sound too good to be true, they probably are. Find a company that is extremely professional and outlines a good plan for your unique situation.
4. Get pre qualified! Did you know that some companies can actually have an underwriter call your lender and see if you will qualify for a loan modification under current guidelines? This way, you should know before you go in what kind out outcome to expect.
5. Check references. See if they have actual homeowners who have used their services that you can call. See if they can email you examples of their past successes. If they are a good company, they will have no problem with this.
I wish you luck in lowering your mortgage payments and hope this will help you make a wise decision.
Why Gas Credit Cards Are No Longer Second-Rate
It used to be that gas credit cards were the credit cards you applied for when you needed to improve your credit history. Nowadays, that’s no longer the case. Gone is the era when all gas credit cards offered was a high interest rate and welcome to a day and age when these financial tools have become must-have pieces of plastic.
1. Kiss High Interest Goodbye
If you think carrying a gas credit card means paying interest rates of more than 20 percent, you may want to think twice.
Gas credit cards are no longer the money guzzlers they used to be. Nowadays you can get a gas credit card with an interest rate of well below 20 percent. Just shop around and you’ll find plenty of low-interest gas credit cards available.
2. Combat Those Gas Prices
Most of us do what we can to make our gas dollars stretch. Who can blame us with the way gas prices have been going? Usually, saving gas money means conserving gas and changing driving habits. After all, it’s not like you can find coupons for fuel discounts in the local paper.
While you may not be able to find coupons for 25 cents off a gallon of gas, you can use gas credit cards to save money at the pump. Many gas credit cards offer money back or gas rebates when you use the card to pay for your gas purchases.
While it may not seem like a lot, a gas rebate of 5 percent can equate to 15 cents a gallon. That’s taking a $3.00 gallon of gas and lowering the price to $2.85. Considering some people would drive across town to get that kind of a price break, gas credit cards are looking better and better as prices go up.
Just remember, pay those balances in full each month or your rebates won’t cover the finance charges you accrue.
3. More Than Just Gas
Some gas credit cards offer added perks that have nothing to do with gas stations or fuel. Some gas credit cards have been known to offer dining rebates, double cash back bonuses and other great perks.
If you haven’t considered gas credit cards lately, you may want to give them another glance. After all, many of us have been saying that gas is like gold — so maybe a gas card is like a gold card? Check out the current deals and you may be surprised that many of the gas credit cards out there really have a lot to offer.