Loan Modification - Obama Wants You To Get Help

President Obama has expressed a desire for banks that are participating in the home stimulus plan to allocate more resources to serving homeowners who are seeking help. Judging by the telephone wait time, loan modification companies were not quite yet prepared for the influx of homeowners they have experienced.

Under this plan, the participating lenders are required to give consideration to every application for a loan modification. We have no way to know whether that is actually being done. You should carefully prepare your application materials in accordance with the application guidelines well before actually contacting the lender. You need to have all your documentation compiled, a budget worked up showing your income and expenses, and a hardship letter composed. This letter, which should be no more than 1 1/2 pages, must detail what events occurred that propelled you into a financial tailspin. You must also document these facts and figures, too.

When you do contact the Loss Mitigation Department, you may find that you are placed on hold multiple times, disconnected, and given very little attention when they do answer. This was the case when Congresswoman Maxine Waters contacted a lender on behalf of a constituent who needed mortgage assistance. Her repeated attempts to get through and to get someone to even listen were broadcast on a news show called, "NIGHTLINE." So, you should expect to have to exercise some patience when attempting to begin your application process.

It is worthy of mentioning that you can only obtain one loan modification, and you can only apply once. This means you must take great care when you prepare your application materials.