Are you a homeowner falling behind on mortgage payments? Worried that you may not be able to pay as much towards your mortgage soon? Want to restructure your mortgage payments to make them more affordable? You may be able to get a mortgage loan modification from your mortgage company to help make the loan more beneficial for you and your financial situation.
Whether you are behind on payments or already in foreclosure, loan modifications are a great option for homeowners to make their mortgage payments more affordable. A loan modification can modify your current loan and make your payments more bearable to handle.
At Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law, we assist homeowners trying to obtain a loan modification by communicating with the mortgage company and standing up for your homeowner rights.
What to Know About Loan Modifications
A home loan modification allows you to modify the original loan that you owe to your mortgage lender. This could mean reducing the interest rate, splitting the payments into smaller amounts, extending the loan to reduce payment amounts or reducing the principal of the loan.
Loan modifications are accessible to homeowners that qualify and meet the requirements. It can be hard to determine if you’re eligible to receive a loan modification and the best terms for that modification. On top of that, the loan modification process can be confusing and require a lot of paperwork and communication with the mortgage company.
Loan modifications can be denied by lenders but that has become increasingly less likely to deny homeowners thanks to new CFPB rules. Mortgage lenders and servicers are required to do their due diligence in order to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, including making modifications to existing mortgage loans.
However, even if you know the basics of what a loan modification is, the loan modification process is still complex to navigate. If you’re a New Jersey homeowner looking for a loan modification, you’ll first have to identify if you’re eligible for a loan modification, learn about what terms you may be able to get in a modified loan, and get approved for a modification.
Do I Qualify for a Mortgage Modification?
In order to get a loan modification with your mortgage lender, New Jersey homeowners must qualify and meet certain requirements. These requirements will vary from lender to lender but generally the requirements will include:
- The house must be under the homeowner’s name
- Homeowner must prove that they cannot make payments due to a financial hardship
- Provide evidence of your financial hardships that caused you to fall delinquent on payments. Financial hardships can include, but are not limited to:
- Illness or disability
- Death in the family
- Natural disaster
- Divorce
The best way to get a loan modification in New Jersey approved is to meet your lender’s requirements and have all necessary paperwork that documents your financial hardships. However, even if you’ve had financial hardship, proving that you qualify for a loan modification can be a complex process. Often, the qualification process isn’t as straightforward as it seems.
To find out more about if you qualify for a loan modification with your mortgage servicer, you can go on their website and find their specific qualifications. You may also find your lender on our list of mortgage servicers that the attorneys at Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law often deal with.
What Is the Home Loan Modification Process in New Jersey?
Getting a loan modification in New Jersey can be a long and complicated process that requires the proper paperwork and communicating with your mortgage lender on a regular basis. Homeowners also need to be aware that mortgage lenders and banks may not have your best interest at heart.
Here’s how a New Jersey loan modification attorney can help you through the loan mod process:
1. Pinpoint who your mortgage servicer is
A lot of people mistake their mortgage lender for their mortgage servicer. To get a loan modification in New Jersey, you must contact your mortgage servicer, not the lender or owner of your loan.
The mortgage servicer is the company you pay your regular mortgage payments to. Sometimes the mortgage servicer and mortgage lender are the same company, but often, the mortgage servicer will be a separate company to service the mortgage loan from the company that owns the loan. As well, your mortgage may have been sold between companies and tracking down who actually owns your loan can be a complicated process.
Because this process can be time sensitive, it’s important that you know who your mortgage servicing company is so that you contact the right people and prevent precious time from being wasted. An attorney can help you navigate through this process by communicating with companies on your behalf to get the proper paperwork together and identify if you’re eligible for a loan modification under the terms of your loan, federal regulations, and state regulations.
2. Submit an application with your mortgage loan servicer
To submit an application with your mortgage loan servicer, you first need to send a statement of desire for a loan modification and why. In order for your application to be approved, you need to prove financial hardship that is preventing you from being able to make your monthly payments.
Crafting these statements and providing proof is the key to successfully applying for a loan modification and if you get this step wrong, you may be denied a loan modification when you were, in fact, eligible.
After sending your statement of desire, your mortgage lender may ask you for additional paperwork to confirm your reasons for pursuing a loan modification. A loan modification attorney can help to craft these documents using their experience of how to navigate the loan mod process and communicate on your behalf with lenders to get the best outcome in your situation.
3. Negotiate loan modification terms
Eligibility is the first step to getting a loan modification. After being approved, you should work with your lender to get the best terms for your financial situation. There’s no point in getting a loan modification if the terms of the loan mod don’t work best for you.
Negotiating with your lender can be intimidating, but don’t let that stop you from getting the modification terms that you need and deserve according to your rights. An experienced loan modification lawyer may be able to negotiate with your lender to make sure you get the best outcome of your modification.
To reiterate, the loan mod process is complex and some lenders make the process intentionally difficult for unknowing homeowners with modification terms that do little to help their financial situation. With an attorney, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have someone on your side who is obligated to pursue your best interest.
Work With a New Jersey Loan Modification Attorney Today
The loan modification process can be long and confusing. It also requires a lot of paperwork and back and forth communication with lenders that may impact your loan modification outcomes. Some banks and lenders also have a history of violating homeowners’ rights during the loan modification process.
An experienced loan modification attorney may be able to help you get a loan modification and stand up for your rights against banks and lenders.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and see how loan modification attorney Joshua Denbeaux at Denbeaux & Denbeaux Law may be able to help you get a loan modification with your mortgage servicer.
