Upside Down Mortgage

Archive for August, 2009

Loan Modification Lawsuits

In July, 2008, Bank of America bought Countrywide Bank, a major mortgage lender. Homeowners whose mortgages were held by Countrywide heard of its plan to offer refinancing or loan modifications to help homeowners struggling to pay their monthly mortgage. These homeowners need more information about the process in order to learn what it will mean to them and who qualifies.

Countrywide has a bad reputation as a mortgage lender. In 2009 the State Attorney General sued Countrywide for predatory lending practices. A goggle search will find many negative postings from customers who were not happy. One of the top complaints stemmed from the fact that different customer service representatives seemed to have different information and much of what the customers were told were contradictory. This lack of communication meant that homeowners were charged extra money and time was wasted.

After the lawsuit, Countrywide issued a press release, announcing a new plan to help troubled homeowners quickly. For loan modifications, the goal was to reduce monthly payments so they would be 34% of the homeowner's monthly income, making the mortgage bill more reasonable. These modified loans included a step-rate interest payment over time. In order to qualify for this program, the homeowner has to be living in the house on which the mortgage is held.

There are many ways Countrywide plans to modify these loans. For FHA loans, there is HOPE for Homeowners, a refinancing plan that lets people without very much home equity refinance their home through an equity-sharing program. If the homeowner does refinance through HOPE and later sells the home, a sliding scale is applied to determine how much of the home's equity will be given to FHA after the sale occurs. There are other options regarding loan modifications such as interest rate reductions along with principal reductions, which would restore equity.

Despite Countrywide's sketchy past, if you have a mortgage with Countrywide the best thing you can do now is move on. Seek a loan modification if you feel your payments are too high in comparison to your monthly income and don't wait for someone to approach you, take charge. Bank of America is working to change the image Countrywide has acquired and their new plans of loan modification have been put into place since the lawsuit. Now Countrywide regularly reviews mortgages and sends letters to homeowners who are 60 days behind in their payments. In this letter they outline their new loan modification policy.

If you have concerns about your mortgage loan adjustment from Countrywide you can find out about your eligibility and the process to apply for a loan modification.
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For tips and facts about how to get approved for a Mortgage Modification? Visit our simple, no nonsense loan modification guide and resource: http://MortgageModificationLoan.net/

Source - Countrywide Home Loan Modification - Should You be Concerned?

Loan Modification 2 - Home Mortgage & Real Estate Marketing Nov08- Foreclosure, Servicers & Congress

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Subprime Meltdown Explanation

Most consumers who are searching for answers and explanations regarding the mortgage crisis which started threatening the United States, are usually blaming the community reinvestment act. Although the community reinvestment act subprime mortgage has been long taken into account, there are some people who still consider that if the community reinvestment act would not existed there would still be a lot of owners who would be renting. To analyze and determine who is right or wrong is not easy at all, and the purpose is not to judge, but to find proper answers for these questions and provide the appropriate solutions.

A difficult and unfair situation that the community reinvestment act must handle is concerning some people who received substantial loans but had not the necessary qualifications. The critics are throwing the guilt at the community reinvestment for this and the entire country is facing a critical moment, no one is going to take full responsibility for the situation. Even if the community reinvestment act crisis is going to extent, most people's opinion is that the mortgage crisis problem is due to the fact that plenty of the borrowers of subprime mortgage crisis had to adopt an ARM mortgage so that they could have the desired home.

Although there is a large number if borrowers who are defaulting the community reinvestment act, there still are some of the helped borrowers who are not fulfilling their loans. Generally, the dollar's dropping down, the insecurity of the economy and the shocking interest rates, have led to very slippery and dangerous financial situation. Most borrowers who were not able to get a home loan, had no other option but to choose and ARM mortgage, and the effects of this decision will definitely be noticed in the evolution of the interest rate during the future years.

Even if some difficult periods are longer, the ARM mortgage will adapt to the latest interest rate in only 5 years. No matter the period of the locked in interest rate, always exist situations in which the interest rate is higher than the one at which it needs to be reinstalled. An important aspect of this matter is that the change of the interest rate can have a negative impact on the mortgage payment and, thus affecting the borrowers. When making such an adjustment it must be taken into consideration the fact that the borrowers could lose their homes.

However, the homes that are being affected and trapped into foreclosure is decreasing, but the fight and blame regarding the community reinvestment act subprime mortgage crisis continues in the whole country. The situation is unstable considering the fact that there are people who were helped by the program, but there are still many who are facing and being displaced by the consequences of the subprime mortgage crisis. In time, more answers will be revealed concerning the program and its success, but until then it will take some time, patience and strength. The only solution is to try to face the situation as it is and keep struggling because giving up is not a solution, is only the poorest alternative.

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Uncover the truth behind
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Source - Subprime Mortgage Plan - The Connection Between Community Reinvestment Act And Subprime Mortgage Crisis

THE NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER | Paul Solman's Subprime Primer Pt.1 | PBS

Buy What To Expect When You're Expecting Foreclosure: Help With Loan Modification, Short Sales, Deed In Lieu And Foreclosure