Questions and Answers

On Mortgage Modifications
Why would a lender modify my How do I qualify for a mortgage
mortgage? modification?
Lenders have realized that in some cases rst call you make should be to
it is better for them to work with their your lender. Have the information above
current borrower to lower their payment ready to discuss with them and call your
or possibly improve their terms in order to customer service line to ask them what
keep them in their property. The average options you have available. If the person
foreclosure can cost a lender from 35 to you speak with does not understand
50% of the value of a property (or more). what you are asking about, you can ask
So keeping a borrower in their home is to be referred to one of the following
better for everyone. departments (different lenders have
different names for this department):
What do I need to qualify for a
• Loss Mitigation Department
mortgage modification? • cation Department
According to the Making Home • H.O.P.E. Department
Affordable government website (www.
MakingHomeAffordable.com ) you will Prior to contacting your mortgage lender,
need the following information for your you can quickly complete an eligibility test
cation: at www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov . This
• rst mortgage, test will let you know if you are eligible for
such as your monthly mortgage cation through the government
statement. sponsored Home Affordability and Stability
• Information about any second Program (HASP).
mortgage or home equity line of credit For a list of mortgage lenders and servicers
on the house. with contact information, you can visit
• Account balances and minimum www.HopeNow.org .
monthly payments due on all of your
credit cards. What is a Home Affordable
• Account balances and monthly Refinance?
payments on all your other debts such If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns your
as student loans and car loans. mortgage, you may be eligible for a Home
• Your most recent income tax return. nance. This will allow you to
• Information about your savings and nance your home and often lower your
other assets payments.
• Information about the monthly gross
(before tax) income of your household,
including recent pay stubs if you The one reality about today’s
receive them or documentation housing market is that many
of income you receive from other people have more quetions than
sources. answers. As a community service,
• It may also be helpful to have: A letter
your area real estate expert has
provided you with this
describing any circumstances that information to help you with your
caused your income to be reduced or situation or someone you may
expenses to be increased (job loss, know who may need answers.
divorce, illness, etc.) if applicable. Your provider understands that
helping people out of difficult
financial situations helps us all.

The Distressed Property Institute, LLC assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this document. The Distressed Property Institute, LLC is not engaged in
the practice of law nor give legal advice. © Distressed Property Institute, LLC 2008. All rights reserved. Any duplication without express written consent is prohibited. Page 1

The above brokerage assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this information and is not engaged in the practice of law nor
gives legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek appropriate professional counsel regarding your rights as a homeowner.
 Questions and Answers
On Mortgage Modifications
What if I Don’t Qualify, Can’t Afford My
Home and Owe More than It is Worth? Mortgage Modification Resources
You are not alone, and foreclosure is not the www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov
only option. If your mortgage lender or servicer • Check your eligibility, see frequently asked
will not work with you to reduce your payment, questions.
you may want to consider a short sale! The www.HopeNow.com
ed Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) • List of Lenders and services with contact
that gave you this document has undergone information
extensive training in how to process and
negotiate short sales. Fannie Mae Contact Information
• 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 8pm EST)
A short sale allows you to sell your home for less • www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup
than what you owe and avoid foreclosure. Speak to the
market expert who provided you with this Freddie Mac Contact Information
information to see if you may qualify for a short sale. • 1-800-FREDDIE (8am to 8pm EST)
• www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage

Don’t Delay The qualifi cations for a

Home Affordable Refinance
Each day is important when according to the resources
you are exploring options on released by the government are:
your mortgage—don’t wait
one more day that could be • You are the owner-occupant of
spent working with your a one-to-four-unit home
mortgage servicer or lender • The loan on your property
on finding a solution to your is owned or securitized by
specific issue. Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
(see resources on this bulletin)
• At the time you apply, you
Mortgage Modifications are current on your mortgage
payments (current means that
A mortgage modification is a you haven’t been more than
process through which your 30-days late on your mortgage
mortgage lender changes: payment in the last 12 months,
• Your interest rate or if you have had the loan for
• Your principal balance less than 12 months, you have
(through a reduction) never missed a payment)
• Your loan terms (example: • You believe that the amount
from an adjustable to a rst
xed rate) mortgage is about the same
• Any or all of the above or slightly less than the current
This process will often allow a value of your house
borrower who can no longer • cient
afford their home at their to support the new mortgage
current mortgage payment to payments, and the refinance
stay in their property. improves the long-term aff-
ordability or stability of your loan.

The Distressed Property Institute, LLC assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this document. The Distressed Property Institute, LLC is not engaged in
the practice of law nor give legal advice. © Distressed Property Institute, LLC 2008. All rights reserved. Any duplication without express written consent is prohibited. Page 2

The above brokerage assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this information and is not engaged in the practice of law nor
gives legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek appropriate professional counsel regarding your rights as a homeowner.
 Questions and Answers HUD Approved Counselors
On Mortgage Modifications ACORN Housing ©
http://www.acornhousing.org/
Should you Hire a 3rd Party for a Catholic Charities USA ®
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/
Mortgage Modification?
Citizens’ Housing and Planning
If you are considering a Mortgage Modification, you have Association, Inc.
probably started to notice companies that advertise they http://www.chapa.org/
will help you negotiate and lower your payments and Consumer Credit Counseling Service of
possibly your mortgage balance. You should be very Atlanta ™
cautious when proceeding with any of these organizations. http://www.cccsatl.org/
According to a recent White House Press Release, “One HomeFree-USA ©
tip-off that an offered service may be a scam is that it asks http://www.homefreeusa.org/
homeowners to pay upfront fees.”, officials said at the Homeownership Preservation
news conference. They stressed that none of the new Foundation ©
programs announced by the Obama administration in recent http://www.995hope.org/
weeks required any upfront fees. The Housing Partnership Network ©
http://www.housingpartnership.net/
When engaging with a third party for help with a
Mission of Peace Housing Counseling
modification, you should:
Agency ©
1. Make certain they are not charging upfront fees. http://www.missionofpeace.com/
2. Be very cautious as to the organization’s affiliation. Mississippi Homebuyer Education
Center ©
Many companies include words like ‘Federal’ or
http://www.mhbec.com
‘Government’ in their names but are in no way affiliated
The Mon Valley Initiative
with the government.
http://www.monvalleyinitiative.com/
3. If the organization claims to be affiliated with the Money Management International, Inc. ©
government or with the Obama administration, ask for their http://www.moneymanagement.org/
website and check them out. National Community Reinvestment
See the list of HUD approved counselors provided on this Coalition ©
document for organizations approved to work with http://www.ncrc.org
borrowers by the federal government’s Hope Now Alliance. National Council of La Raza ©
http://www.nclr.org
National Federation of Community
Development Credit Unions
http://www.cdcu.coop
National Foundation for Credit
Counseling ©
http://www.nfcc.org/
The National Urban League ©
http://www.nul.org/
NeighborWorks® America
http://www.nw.org/
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation
of America © (NACA)
https://www.naca.com
Rural Community Assistance Co.
http://www.rcac.org/
Structured Employment Economic
Development Co.
http://www.seedco.org/

The Distressed Property Institute, LLC assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this document. The Distressed Property Institute, LLC is not engaged in
the practice of law nor give legal advice. © Distressed Property Institute, LLC 2008. All rights reserved. Any duplication without express written consent is prohibited. Page 3

The above brokerage assumes no responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of this information and is not engaged in the practice of law nor
gives legal advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek appropriate professional counsel regarding your rights as a homeowner.