Tag Archives: government
Debt Reductions Companies in Canada – Do Your Due Diligence
When making a big ticket purchase like a vehicle, you do your research right? You check the history of the vehicle, ensure it has not been in accidents, learn about the ownership, check the maintenance record for the vehicle and more. Your personal finances are no different and if you are in financial trouble, before choosing a company to help you, you really should do the same kind of research.
“The banks are offering a program that’s about to run out” or “time is running out on Federal Government Programs”; sound familiar? Debt reduction companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising per/year to sell you on this message. The question is; is it true? And do they “really” help? Is there really a program that all of the banks collaborated on and is time running out? Is it true that the Federal Government programs that help Canadians get out of debt could end in the near future? And what do they do anyway? Let’s get to the bottom of it.
First of all; all of the banks have not gotten together to offer a debt reduction program, hence time is not running out; because it simply isn’t true. The only Federal Government programs that help Canadians deal with debt are administered under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). The Federal Government has made no announcement that there is a plan to eliminate the BIA legislation and there is no other Federal Government program that we are aware of that helps Canadians get immediate, legislated, debt relief. Seeking debt relief under the BIA does not mean that you have to go bankrupt and Federal Government programs are a viable means to get out of debt when a financial crisis emerges. The BIA offers different remedies to deal with debt, but the principal program offered by debt reduction companies doesn’t even involve relief under the BIA.
Debt reduction companies collect money from you on a monthly basis over a period of years with a promise that in the future they will settle your debt. By way of contrast, debt consulting companies represent you and provide you with a range of options to deal with debt that could include a consolidation or even enrolment in a credit counselling or Federal Government program. Debt reduction companies have one primary goal and that is to collect your money on a monthly basis. This is where the money that they use to advertise to you comes from. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) recently issued a consumer alert about debt reduction companies; you can view the alert here http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=649969.
Before you deal with a debt reduction company, do your due diligence. While writing this article we took some simple steps that any consumer who has access to a computer can take to research a company; the results really scared us.
We visited the first debt reduction company’s website and there were many red flags. First, there wasn’t any information about the company’s ownership. Are they Canadian? American? Who is their president and what does he or she stand for. The company publishes no information about their ownership whatsoever. Red flag 1!
We Googled “who owns [company name]” and nothing came up. Red flag 2!
We went to Linkedin and ran a search by company name to see how many professionals on Linkedin are employees of the debt reduction company. The only profile that came up was an individual page branded for the company – not one employee and not a single name of anyone associated with this company emerged as a result. You would expect that a company that bills itself as a national provider of debt reduction services would have at least one employee with a profile on Linkedin; the world’s largest professional networking site. We would liken this to you not knowing a single person who has a Facebook account. Red flag 3!
Finally, we searched “[company name] reviews” and on the first 3 pages of Google we found no less than 6 pages by companies who represent people and individuals themselves who reported very serious claims about this debt reduction company. Red Flag 4!
Don’t believe everything you hear! Ads are paid for by the advertisers, companies pay the BBB to be members and any company who doesn’t wilfully and publicly provide information about their corporate structure and ownership, may not be a company you should commit to paying hundreds of dollars per/month for years to come. When it comes to debt reduction companies do your due diligence.
How Can You Get a Chase Bank Home Loan Modification?
It is every homeowners’ worse nightmare, a financial crisis that may result in the loss of the family home. There is a solution, an alternative to foreclosure, and that is a modification to the mortgage loan. This depends on your bank and your loan insurer so before you investigate loan modification you should first make an appointment with your mortgage lender. This article outlines the usual expectations for those who hope to get a Chase Bank mortgage modification.
First you need to know who insures your loan. This is not something that people commonly know, usually you don’t even need to access this information, so don’t stress if you don’t have this information immediately. All you need to do is phone Chase Bank and ask. You are in luck if it turns out your insurer is Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. A $75 billion government loan modification program has recently been developed for those with Fannie and Freddie loans that is meant to help homeowners survive this recession by modifying their monthly payments so they are reduced to just 31% of gross monthly income.
Of course, there are some standards that must be met before you are allowed to access this Making Home Affordable Plan. You must live in the home you own, your debt cannot exceed $729,750 and the loan must have been secured prior to January 1, 2009. Your current monthly payment must be more than 31% of your gross monthly income and you must not have had previous loan modifications. This is a very good plan and if you think you might qualify; find a HUD-approved financial counsellor who will be able to give you more information. The government is actively encouraging modification programs to help everyone by giving both the borrowers and lenders incentive payments.
If you are not insured through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there is still hope. Chase Bank still offers modifications. It won’t be as good as the Making Home Affordable Plan since there is no government funding, but it is still better than foreclosure both for you and for your credit rating. Applicants must still be living in the home they own, and must be holders of a fist mortgage that has not been refinanced or modified earlier. The monthly payments, since government help is not a factor here, may be in the range of 31% to 40% of your monthly income before taxes. If you do meet these requirements, you will have to submit whatever paperwork Chase Bank requests. This will include a hardship letter, all financial records, your pay stubs and your tax returns.
If you are facing foreclosure due to an inability to pay your mortgage, check out Chase Bank home loan modification. If your income and loan fall into the eligible range, you might find you can modify your loan and reduce your monthly payment to something you can afford.