Tag Archives: homeowners
Foreclosures Remain the Main Concern for Homeowners
Since the collapse of the housing industry almost two years ago, foreclosures have remained the number one concern for all homeowners in the U.S. who have a mortgage. Rising debt, pay cuts and an uncertain job market have put immense pressure on all families trying to meet their monthly mortgage requirements.
With millions of families already losing their homes, homeowners have been trying everything to avoid foreclosure. Although President Obama has announced his mortgage stimulus plan to aid struggling homeowners on March 4th of this year, it has done little to stop the rising foreclosures across the country. The Obama administration has even announced a new plan for families with second mortgages and it remains to be seen whether these new measures will help homeowners save their houses.
Families who are finding it tough to pay their mortgages on time must try to get their loans modified immediately to try and stop the lenders from filing a foreclosure notice. A loan modification will allow the banks to give the homeowner either a new monthly payment plan or a revised interest rate which will help them meet the mortgage requirements until their situation improves. Most homeowners feel that if they are having difficulties in their payments or have taken pay cuts in their jobs, they do not qualify for a loan modification and hence avoid applying for one.
However the fact remains that if a homeowner is experiencing a difficult time, it actually increases their chances of getting the loan modification application approved as banks can see a genuine hardship on their part. Homeowners can decide to apply for a loan modification on their own or choose to enlist the help of a qualified consultant in the field. It is always better to apply via a loan modification consultant as they will be in a much better position to negotiate with the bank on your behalf. Although it will save you a lot of time since you wont have to constantly follow up with your lender and chase them down to know the outcome of your application, you also improve your chances on getting the best modification for your situation.
If you do choose go to with a consultant, just make sure that you do not agree to pay any kind of upfront fees. Unfortunately since there are millions of homeowners in distress right now, it has given rise to many fly-by-night companies who take money from homeowners and disappear without actually applying or even calling the bank for a loan modification application. Another problem with paying money upfront is that since there is no guarantee whether your application will get approved. Thus, you are losing a lot of money immediately which could have been used to meet your household expenses.
The ideal situation for a homeowner would be to contact a loan modification consultant who will charge their fees only once the loan modification application is actually approved by the bank. This means you are not losing any money in the event your application is rejected. At the same time, your chances of approval go up as the consultant would be able to negotiate with your lenders and make sure you get the best possible new mortgage plan based on your current situation.
Mortgage Loan Modification from WaMu
There are several choices for homeowners to choose from with a mortgage loan modification from WaMu. Since November 2008 WaMu has been willing to assist homeowners on the verge of foreclosure. And after the new modification regulations and incentives under the Obama Administration, they have recently become even more open to loan modification negotiations.
Mortgage loan modification from WaMu is only available to homeowners with mortgages from WaMu. The existing mortgage can also not have been modified or refinanced in the past to qualify. Besides these two special bits of criteria, WaMu has same basic requirements as other lenders.
Find the guidelines for WaMu mortgage modification before attempting to apply. Applying without full knowledge of that they expect from you before a modification can and usually will disqualify you. Besides that, knowing what their requirements are will give you a sense of peace of mind from being informed.
Wamu offers an application for mortgage modification online, and it is the fastest method to get approved. Be sure to fill out and all fields truthfully and make sure you do not miss any fields. Even accidentally skipping a field can be means for denial.
They are going to be looking mostly at your income, mortgage payment history, and expenses to determine whether you are qualified or not. Keep in mind that anyone applying for mortgage modification must be going through times of financial hardship, and otherwise will not be approved.
The Home Affordable Modification Plan ensures that homeowners who are going through financial hardship are given the right to apply, but not necessarily be approved depending on the criteria the lender is looking for.
Submit your hardship letter in at the same time to send in your application in order to speed up the approval process. It takes approximately eight weeks for your application to be looked at and then approved. Submitting the hardship letter after the application can push it back at least a week.
WaMu is relatively easy to get a loan modification from in comparison to some other lenders, but that does not make it easy. They require that you fill out the loan modification application as perfectly as possible and have a convincing and professional hardship letter.
Mortgage loan modification from WaMu is a great step in the right direction for homeowners across the country, but it’s a shame that even small mistakes can disqualify you. All lenders require attention to detail on your part, but WaMu requests more than average.