Upside Down Mortgage

Archive for February, 2009

Loan Modification California Law

Regardless of where you are at financially, it is almost never too late to avoid losing your home to foreclosure.  Qualified loan modification attorneys know that while it is easy to lose hope and fall into a place of inaction, you have many tools at your disposal.

Options

Contact your existing lender and see if you can get a forbearance, a payment plan or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.  A forbearance is an agreement between the lender and the borrower that reinstates the delinquent loan through the payment of a lump sum or a schedule of payments over a period of time.  A payment plan is similar to forbearance; in some cases, the lender may agree to a short term payment plan if you can prove you’ve had a hardship (loss of a job, medical bills, etc.).  A deed in lieu of foreclosure is a voluntary transference of title to the lender.  Most often, this is used as a last ditch effort by the homeowner to avoid the negative consequences of foreclosure.

The problem with all of these options is that they require a great deal of cash on hand, something you most likely do not have available.  Foreclosures can be a challenging situation because most people facing foreclosure are not simply lazy people who forgot to pay a bill, they are hardworking people who are facing some sort of financial crisis. These might be options if you have $10,000 or $20,000 on hand, but odds are you do not.  With a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the ultimate problem is you no longer own the home, and so now you’ve lost any equity in the house and you are not in control

Other options include refinancing, although that depends upon your credit history which could have taken a massive hit from your financial problems.  If you do not have an outstanding credit history, or if your financial challenges are more than short term, a refinancing probably will not happen.  A short sale is an option, although there is no guarantee that the lender will forgive whatever debt remains from the short sale.  There is also always bankruptcy, but there are so many challenges before, during and after a bankruptcy that it can be a complete waste of time.  A bankruptcy will stay on your credit history for up to a decade and provide nothing but headaches during that time.  Even afterwards you can face financial challenges, career challenges and legal challenges stemming from the bankruptcy.

Quite possibly your best option when facing foreclosure is a California loan modification.  A loan modification is a change of the terms of the original mortgage loan; the change could be to the interest rate, the length of the mortgage, the principal balance, the late fees or some other part of the original agreement.  To get a loan modification, you can attempt to deal with the lender yourself or hire a California loan modification attorney to negotiate on your behalf.  A loan modification attorney will often get a quicker response from a lender because he or she will have the law on their side.  A lender will consider a loan modification when foreclosure is eminent and the borrower’s income has been decreased, but if the borrower will be able to keep paying the mortgage at a lower monthly rate.

About the Author:

Loan Modification Help Center - loan modification company -is a free gathering place for resources and information on the rapidly evolving field of loan modifications. The internet is over flowing with information on this subject with the problem being that there can be as much bad information and advice as good. For a homeowner struggling with mortgage payments and facing the possibility of foreclosure, the importance of getting straightforward information with no agenda or ulterior motive is of utmost importance. The resources we make available at Loan Modification Help Center are just what homeowners need as they seek to understand their options and get the information they need to make the critical decisions involved in a loan modification. For more information visit http://loanmodificationhelpcenter.org.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Loan Modification Help Center - Learn your options for stopping foreclosure now

Do I Need a Lawyer for Loan Modification?

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Loan Modification Phone Numbers

Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad Word Campaigns

Ad words are an absolute must for your loan modification marketing campaign, but only if done well. Once you create your website, complete with an easy and obvious method to capture names, emails, and phone numbers of interested visitors, then start advertising with the Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, and MSN ad word programs. Ad words are the targeted (i.e. relevant) pay-per-click ads that show up at the top and side of the screen when internet users do key word searches on the major search engines.

Clicks can be expensive in the loan mod industry, so be specific, and track the heck out of your ad campaigns with a good analytics program. Aim for the long tail (i.e. lots of cheaper, low-traffic, specific keyword combinations rather than the few, expensive general keyword phrases). If you’re intimidated by the prospect of managing an ad words campaign, I’d highly suggest paying a company to create and manage your campaigns for you. It can be time consuming and confusing, especially for a novice. Again, I’d also suggest that you read some books on the subject, such as those written by Seth Godin.

Banner Ads

Banner ads are the little colorful advertisements that show up along the very top and sides of your favorite websites. These can be effective, if they are correctly targeted to your ideal clients. Realtor.com and Zillow.com are both good candidates for buying a banner ad space for your loan mod business. Don’t spend too much on this right away, but it can certainly supplement your other efforts at some point. As always, make sure you track the efficacy of any banner ad you buy.

Social Networking and All Things Web 2.0

All things web 2.0…what does this mean? If you have to ask, then you really need to hire someone to manage you online marketing for you. In a nutshell, it’s using the latest internet tools to connect to your clients, to connect them to you, to connect them to each other, and to connect them to the outside world. Plus, it also means getting plugged into the blogosphere, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Squidoo, Del.icio.us, Flicker, Twitter, and other similar networking websites. Start by joining some of these websites personally, and then just play around. See what you enjoy and what seems to work for you. See what your friends are already using. Grow it from there. And employ the help of a marketing expert if you need it.

Buying Leads

One other kind of electronic marketing that bears mentioning is purchasing leads from online lead generators. These are companies that attract potential customers of various industries to a website, gather information about them (the customers are looking for a quote or to have some questions answered), and then sell that information to companies like yours. These can be very profitable, but they can also be a big waste of money, depending on the quality of the leads. The two most important factors are the speed with which you respond to the inquiry and the number of times that information is sold to different consultants like yourself. Most leads come in real time, meaning that you can respond to the client immediately, which is ideal, because if you don’t respond within an hour, you’ll likely never hear back from them again. Also, most leads are sold more than once, sometimes as many as four or even ten times. Try to find leads that are either exclusive or sold just a couple times.

Some people have built very successful businesses from buying leads, still others buy leads to simply supplement the regular referral business. Since purchased leads are inevitably colder than personal referrals, they will never be as good as an introduction from a mutual friend. If you do decide to buy leads, make sure you call or email them the minute you receive them, and make sure you track their ROI. And in the early days of your business, don’t spend too much money on purchased leads, because they can be expensive ($20 per lead is not uncommon, with a 10% or lower close ratio), so you might want to focus your limited marketing dollars elsewhere, especially at first.

Click here to read the next article in the series: Loan Modification Marketing Series Part 6 - Sales Dating Plan.

About the Author:

If you'd like to learn more about starting a loan modification business, or if you want to access all the necessary forms, spreadsheets, and templates, click here:

http://StartALoanModBiz.com
Matt Sparks is a successful entrepreneur, both offline and on. He is also a licensed mortgage broker, employing real estate broker, and Realtor. He has written books, articles, and blogs about small business, real estate, finance, New Urbanism, and sustainable cities.
(c) Copyright - Matthew R. Sparks. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Loan Modification Marketing Series Part 5 - Electronic Marketing Continued

Mortgage Short Sale, Foreclosure & Real Estate Marketing, Realtor & Expert Negotiator

Loan Modification Software For Homeowners

Do it yourself loan modifications are booming in popularity due to the reluctance for homeowners to spend money on modification companies. Many homeowners go at it by hand, but an increasing amount are actually using software to do just about everything in the application process but to talk on the phone with lending companies.

Loan modification software is popping up all over the internet, for both modification companies and homeowners. They all have a variety of features, but the one for homeowners are the main focus.

Quality software for homeowners to work out their modifications with is hard to come by, though with some research and asking on forums on line good software can be tracked down.

The main feature that draws most people to use this software isn't the features, but the price. Software can cost anywhere from $30 dollars to $100 dollars -- both prices are much lower than any company. There are two downsides to loan modification software:

- The quality of the software is not always that great.

- You can't negotiate with software, and it's difficult for a homeowner to do so.

The lack of being able to negotiate in any form is a huge factor in many difficult or strange situations, and for about half of homeowners the lack of negotiations can just as well mean "lack of a loan modification."

However, for anyone who is confident in their eligibility, most software not only helps with the modification, but the budget.

They usually come with some sort of budget feature that allows anyone to work out the budget they will send the lender along with the application they create with the software. Budgeting can take hours by hand, but with software it can only take 30 minutes.

And that's not the only time-saving feature most software packages have. They all fill out the application seamlessly, with no errors and minimal effort, as well as provide hardship letter templates for you to just fill out and send, without the headache.

The bottom line is, loan modification software is great for any homeowner who is confident in their eligibility. With ease of use and a usually completely streamlined process (some even email the application to your lender), it is truly a no-headache experience. However; those who borderline on eligibility or have a complicated situation behind their financial hardship are better off working with a company. And easy process is great, but a human touch can get you much further.
About the Author:

For more information about mortgage loan modifications, visit the #1 loans modification resource on the net: http://HomeLoanModifications101.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Loan Modification Software - Applying in 1-2-3

Modification Software Presentation Part 1