Can You Do Your Own Loan Modifications?

You can do your Own Loan Modification?

I have repeatedly been asked by potential clients and other friends if they can do their loan modification. The quick answer is yes, they can. But the next question is how they can?  Well, first thing is that Loan modification is difficult and there are stumbling blocks on each phase. The first contact is difficult. The good news is that banks have hired more people for loan modifications and the process appears to be simple, but in fact, it is becoming more and more complicated. There is still old mentality of saying No, and it is the easiest thing to say No. No, has very little consequences. A Yes, means more commitment and more work, and these folks does not like to work.

A Word of Caution

Even if still you like to do the loan modification yourself, please take care of the following steps.

1.         Write a good economic hardship letter starting with changes in your job, hours, pay scale, and then your spouse in a similar way.

2.         Make sure you approach the right section of the bank. Only talk to the Loan Mitigation, Home Retention, Loss Mitigations. Be careful about not talking too much with the Debt Collection People. They get commission when you pay your delinquent amount, and they   have no authority to offer you in return.

3.         Don’t be evasive and procrastinate in responding to your mail. Answer them and keep communicating with them.

4.         Make record of each and every document you send them. It is good idea to write a journal of all your mail received and sent.

5.         Get full name, extension number of the person you spoke each time you contact them or vice versa.

6.         When informing them about your financial situation, don’t give too negative a picture of yourself and your income. In fact, you have to tell them that you are still credit worthy and income producing individual, who is temporarily in trouble.

Hopefully, these tips would help you.

Not that I mean to be disrespectful but these are still what I call”over the coounter medicine” which may be good if you have a headache or common cold, but what if you have problem of (god forbid) liver diseases, pancrease, or heart issues or some major problems, and now you need a prescribed drug, see a doctor, a pharmacit and labs need to be done. That is why a qualified licensed attorney who is familiar with the laws of RESPA, TILA, HOEPA, can be very helpful to you.

 

No Bailout for Auto: World Market Plunging

World markets plunge as US auto bailout fails

By PAN PYLAS, AP Business Writer Pan Pylas, Ap Business Writer 20 mins ago

LONDON – World stock markets plunged Friday as the U.S. Senate’s rejection of a $14 billion deal to rescue Detroit’s ailing automakers stoked concerns that the recession in the world’s largest economy will be even longer and deeper than projected.

The FTSE 100 of leading British shares was down 127.87 points, or 2.9 percent, at 4,260.82, while Germany’s DAX fell 185.22 points, or 3.9 percent, to 4,581.98. The CAC-40 in France fell 130.48 points, or 4.0 percent, to 3,175.65.

Earlier, Asian markets tumbled, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average down 484.68 points, or 5.6 percent, to 8,235.87. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 5.5 percent to 14,758.39.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a big sell-off later on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average was projected to drop 259 points, or 3.0 percent, to 8,311, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was forecast to fall 32.90 points, or 3.8 percent, to 841.60.

Investors were rattled after the bailout for Detroit’s struggling Big Three automakers failed in the U.S. Senate. The collapse came after bipartisan talks on the auto rescue broke down over Republican demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with U.S. plants of Japanese carmakers.

The bankruptcy of any of the big American automakers would deal another blow to the world’s largest economy, already in recession.

“For anyone looking for a quiet end to the year, forget about it,” said Mitul Kotecha, an analyst at Calyon Credit Agricole.

Hopes for the U.S. auto industry now appear to rest with President George W. Bush agreeing to tap the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund, or TARP, to aid the carmakers. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have said they could be weeks from collapse. Ford Motor Co. says it does not need federal help now, but its survival is far from certain.

“This will likely keep markets on edge over the coming weeks…unless it is evident that TARP funds will be used,” said Kotecha.

It’s not just stock markets suffering in the wake of the failure of the Senate to pass the rescue deal. The dollar slumped overnight too, particularly against the yen.

The dollar fell to a low of 88.16 yen, its lowest level since Aug. 2, 1995 — before it recovered to trade above 90 yen.

That heaps more bad news on major Japanese exporters like Toyota and Sony — already reeling from waning global consumer demand — whose overseas income is eroded by an appreciating yen.

Toyota Motor Co. dived 10.1 percent, Nissan Motor Co. lost 11.5 percent and Sony Corp. fell 6 percent. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. shed 9.3 percent and Kia Motors Corp. was off 9.1 percent.

Mainland China’s stock market fell as investors were discouraged by the lack of any major new initiatives to spur the economy following a top-level economic conference earlier in the week. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.8 percent to 1,954.21.

Figures this week show that China’s economy is feeling the pinch of the global slowdown. For the first time in seven years, exports fell in November.

Investors also grappled with grim U.S. economic and corporate news. New unemployment benefit applications in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. And Bank of America Corp. announced it expects to cut 30,000 to 35,000 jobs over the next three years.

Markets had rallied after President-elect Barack Obama last weekend proposed a massive stimulus package for the U.S. economy once he takes office in late January, pledging the largest public works program since the creation of the U.S. interstate highway network a half-century ago.

“This has been a typical bear market rally. It’s been based on very high expectations of Obama’s fiscal stimulus plan,” said Arjuna Mahendran, head of Asian investment strategy at HSBC Private Bank in Singapore.”It’s been based on expectations and nothing else.”

Elsewhere, oil prices retreated to below $46 a barrel Friday in Asia after a strong rally overnight, but traders said expectations of a sharp production cut by the OPEC cartel would support the market. Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $1.27 to $46.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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