1. Are you late on your mortgage?



If you are late on monthly house payments or about to be late, you should consider contacting your mortgage servicer as soon as possible to determine whether you can be considered for mortgage modification.

Home loan modification is simply an agreement between lender and borrower to change certain terms of your loan such as interest rate, length of term (number of years), and fees or charges. The result is a monthly house payment the homeowner can afford.

2. Is the thought of foreclosure haunting you?

If you have recently received a foreclosure notice or been contacted by your lender about stopping foreclosure, you certainly are a candidate for a mortgage modification program.

Missing even one loan payment initiates the countdown of foreclosure. The process begins with one late payment fee quickly followed by many others. Foreclosure laws vary from state to state but regardless, foreclosure fees to be charged by the lender quickly accumulate.

Here is the thing however. It is never too late. So don't give up without a fight. Under a mortgage modification program, the lender can choose to forgive those charges and reinstate your home loan. Because mortgage lenders are threatened by the growing number of foreclosures, they are more attentive to the needs of homeowners in distress.

3. Are you feeling buried by your monthly house payments?

A mortgage modification program is all about hardship. Losing a job, a serious illness in the family, whatever the cause, be prepared to discuss it. By explaining your hardship, the opportunity exists of being granted a mortgage holiday for one to six months while you catch up.

Factually speaking banks don't want homes in foreclosure. High foreclosure rates affect their ability to make new loans and attract new capital. So it is in their best interest to be as accommodating as possible, especially now.

But remember banks are inundated with requests. So prepare a presentation of the details to your particular hardship before you make the first contact.

4. Were you asked to take a pay cut to keep your job?

If you can show that you have recently had a change in your employment status or even lost a job, you are candidate for loan modification. Lenders are aware of economic conditions and are under pressure themselves to do everything possible to keep borrowers in good standing. So take advantage of it.

5. Are you currently negotiating with your lender about loan modification?

You are obviously a candidate for a mortgage modification program if you answered yes to the above question. What you may need is guidance.

Right now homeowners are bombarded by loan modification services promising assistance for a fee. These services often charge thousands of dollars for guiding you through this process. Can you afford to pay thousands of dollars or do you prefer to handle the modification yourself?

Only you can answer whether it is worth the cost to hire an outside service but doing it yourself is certainly an option. In fact banks and mortgage servicers actually say they prefer homeowners doing the paperwork themselves. No matter who you hire, you are still primarily responsible for the paper work that is going to be required.

Here are the two main differences between proposing a mortgage loan modification yourself or hiring an advocate to perform it for you.

Who does the paperwork, you or your modification service? Even a modification expert helping you must supply the details.

How much is it going to cost? If you are willing to study a little, you can save yourself a few thousand dollars.

My recommendation - educate yourself. With a little research you can determine whether you want to hire a professional service or initiate a mortgage modification program yourself.

Remember what I always say. It is your home and your mortgage, no one, and I mean no one, is going to care about more than you.