How To Qualify For A Loan Modification in Mississippi

Modifying A Loan

Loan modifications are always one of the hottest topics within the mortgage industry. There are hundreds of new websites, blogs, and emails each day about loan modifications. However, how can one qualify for a loan modification?

Modifying your loan is a huge undertaking. You have to be organized, patient, and strong-willed. It can be hard to stay motivated or keep track of all the paperwork you have to send back and forth to the bank. If this isn’t your first modification attempt, it can be even more challenging. 

You may have heard there are tricks or gimmicks for slipping through the cracks, but the truth is there are no tricks. There are simply a few steps required to qualify for a loan modification.

 

 What Is A Loan Modification?

A loan modification is when the terms of your loan are altered, often to decrease your monthly payments. Among these modifications are the following:

1. Interest rate reduction
2. Extending the period during which you must return your balance
3. Changing your loan type

Loan modifications are often utilized to assist homeowners who are experiencing financial difficulties and are unable to make their mortgage payments. While the procedure might help borrowers avoid defaulting on their debts, it can harm their credit ratings. 

However, loan modification is likely to be more beneficial to your credit than a foreclosure in the long term.

 

Is Loan Modification Same with Refinancing?

Loan modifications and mortgage refinancing are two distinct methods of achieving the same goal: a borrower’s monthly mortgage payment is reduced.

 A loan modification modifies the conditions of the existing mortgage contract, while a mortgage refinances converts the remaining debt into a brand-new loan. In either case, the borrower’s monthly payments are reduced.

 

Mortgage Loan Modification Programs

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Homeowners whose mortgages are held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac may qualify for a Flex Modification Program. The initiative gives lenders more discretion when appraising applicants. If you have just emerged from mortgage forbearance and cannot make your monthly payment, a flex program may be the next logical step.

 

FHA Loans

The Federal Housing Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is offered to homeowners who have FHA-insured mortgages and do not qualify for other forms of loss mitigation. It entails the homeowner participating in a trial payment plan.

 

Veterans Affairs Home Loans

Veterans Affairs home loan applicants with low credit histories, including bankruptcy and foreclosure, often qualify for VA loans more readily than they would for commercial financing.

 

Who Is Eligible for a Mortgage Modification?

The most likely candidates for mortgage modification include homeowners who are behind on their payments and those facing foreclosure as a consequence of unforeseeable (and documented) financial difficulty.

Some factors may contribute to a home loan modification request, including the following:

• Unemployment or other income loss
• Increased costs of living
• Medical expenses
• Separation or divorce
• A family member’s death
• Disability
• You are ineligible to refinance your mortgage.
• You have fallen behind on at least one regular mortgage payment or demonstrated that you are on the verge of skipping a payment.
• Unforeseen or proclaimed calamity.
• Uninsured property loss.

Lenders nearly always assess the borrower’s claims and compare them to the possibility that the customer will meet the adjusted loan’s obligations.

If federal agencies or programs support a homeowner’s mortgage, the homeowner may qualify for government-sponsored mortgage loan modification programs.

 

How To Qualify For A Loan Modification?

You’ll have to apply to your servicer, which will most likely contain the following:

• A completed questionnaire that contains your personal information, mortgage information, and property information
• Payroll records or a profit and loss statement;
• Bank records
• Refunds
• Income and expenditure financial spreadsheet.
• A hardship statement or affidavit.

Situationally, you may also have to supply additional evidence or respond to queries.

 

Qualifying for Loan Modifications

You must be experiencing financial difficulties.

This might be due to a loss of employment or decreased income, a significant sickness, expensive medical expenditures, a balloon payment on your home, a divorce, or excessive debt. A loss of equity or a decrease in the value of your house is not regarded as a qualifying financial hardship in and of itself.

In many situations, you must be able to demonstrate that the condition is permanent and unlikely to change soon – for example, a salesman having a terrible year would likely have difficulty qualifying.

Additionally, you must be without financial reserves sufficient to continue paying your mortgage payments.

 

You must show that you are unable to repay your present mortgage payments.

It makes no difference whether you are financially distressed; if the bank believes you will make your payments, you will not be approved. This is one reason why many lenders want you to be in default before considering a loan modification – if you are still making your payments, they will assume you can continue to afford them.

Lenders typically require that your total recurrent loan payments surpass 41% of your gross monthly income, with your mortgage payment above 31%. Some may anticipate an even more significant debt burden. 

They’re also going to look at your debt. If you seem to be making payments on a vehicle you can’t afford or generally living above your means, they’re expecting you to reduce your spending before approving your loan modification.

 

You must demonstrate that you can adhere to a modified payment plan.

Lenders won’t bother with modifying your loan if you are still going to default. That is why jobless individuals are ineligible for loan modifications unless they have a working spouse – you must have a source of income to make the payments, and unemployment benefit ultimately runs out.

You must be able to demonstrate your income, which may include pay stubs or W-2 forms whether you are a worker or if you are filing tax returns, bank statements, or profit-and-loss statements if you are self-employed. If you rely on supplementary sources of income to help pay your mortgage, they must also be documented.

 

To qualify for a HAMP modification, the property must be your principal home.

With HAMP, this is a hard-and-fast regulation. Lenders, on the other hand, may be more receptive to private alterations. They may be ready to modify a loan secured by a rental property to generate the necessary revenue to repay the note.

They may even allow a modification on a second house if they believe they would suffer a significant loss reclaiming it in foreclosure. However, in general, you must reside in the home to qualify for a mortgage loan modification.

Read on to learn: How To Get A Favourable Jackson Loan Modification Deal.

 

Take Caution When It Comes To Loan Modification And Foreclosure Rescue Scams.

Scammers posing as mortgage rescuers fraudulently claim to seek a loan modification or other kind of assistance to avoid foreclosure. Certain individuals may pose as representatives of a government agency or a housing help program.

 Others fraudulently promote themselves as providing legal counsel, conducting “predatory lending investigations,” or conducting “forensic loan audits” of your mortgage papers. 

These firms may claim that by using their services, they may exert pressure on your lender and facilitate the negotiation of a “good bargain.” 

Unfortunately, these organizations often fail to deliver on their promises, and some firms collect funds in advance and make little or no attempt to assist customers.

 

Hiring a Loan Modification Attorney in Mississippi

If you were denied a mortgage loan modification, you are not alone. Lenders regularly reject up to 50% of applicants. The good thing is that you do possess the power to improve the chances of being approved.

A skilled loan modification lawyer can help you gain a better outcome by preparing your case, negotiating with the lender, and providing you with the strongest chance of success.

Modification lawyers are trained for the type of negotiation that is necessary to succeed with a lender. This negotiation includes preparing your case for a hearing and presenting your request in the best way possible.

Another step that lawyers take is negotiating with the lender on your case. They will help you keep track of the process and know when your lender is taking too long to make a decision.

By helping you prepare for your hearing, talking to the lender, and negotiating with them, a loan modification lawyer can help you get a modification and keep your home.

The modification process takes time, and many people hire a Mississippi loan modification lawyer at Rollins Law Firm to help them through the process. Our Jackson Loan Modification Attorney can help you! So hurry, get your free consultation today!