The Place Is Financialstability.gov For Loan Modification

Today the Obama Administration released the mortgage plan that will allow millions of homeowners to refinance or get some type of help. The question in many homeowners' mind is where do we start from the loan modification process? The place to visit is the www.financialstability.gov site, which the government has set up to carry the process.

Don't call your loan officer first. It may be useless. Your mortgage company will probably send you back to www.Financialstability.gov to check your eligibility. As we tried the process today this is what what it looks like.

First we called our mortgage company where we make the payments. The phone message already mentioned and suggested us to visit Financialstability.gov for further information and instructions. Then the officer picked up the phone and insisted we visit the site.

We visited the www.Financialstability.gov and once there clicked on the Borrower Information: Making Home Affordable Refinance and Modification Options. This part of the site helps the homeowner to learn about the president's plan that was created to help millions of homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages.

From here you need to go to Self-Assessment tools to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who can benefit from Making Home Affordable. Based on your results, the Financialstability.gov will provide suggestions about what you can do next.

If you are a homeowner who is current on your mortgage payments but unable to refinance to a lower interest rate because your home value has decreased, you may be able to refinance.

The www.financialstability.gov will ask you the following questions to see if you qualify for a Making Home Affordable refinance?

1. Is your home your primary residence?
2. Do you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan? If you don’t know contact:
* Fannie Mae,
o 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 8pm EST).
o www.fanniemae.com/homeaffordable
* Freddie Mac
o 1-800-FREDDIE (8am to 8pm EST)
o www.freddiemac.com/avoidforeclosure/
3. Are you current on your mortgage payments?
* “Current” means that you haven’t been more than 30-days late on your mortgage payment in the last 12 months.
4. Do you believe that the amount you owe on your first mortgage is about the same or less than the current value of your house?

What Do I Do Next?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may qualify for a Home Affordable Refinance. The next step is to gather the information you will need to provide to your lender. This includes:

* Information about the monthly gross (before tax) income of your household, including recent pay stubs if you receive them or documentation of income you receive from other sources.
* Your most recent income tax return.
* Information about any second mortgage on the house.
* Account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all of your credit cards.
* Account balances and monthly payments on all your other debts such as student loans and car loans.

After you have this information, you should call your mortgage servicer or lender (the organization to whom you make your monthly mortgage payments) and ask about the Home Affordable Refinance application process. The number is on your monthly mortgage bill or coupon book.

Please be patient

Lenders and servicers are just getting the detailed program requirements and it may take time before they are ready to accept applications.

What if I am not eligible for a Home Affordable Refinance?
If you did not answer yes to all of the questions above, you may be eligible for a Home Affordable Modification.

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