I’ve talked to several people who have been having difficulty staying current on their mortgage, some just over the past year, and others that have been struggling for several years that have qualified for help recently, and they are able to stay in their homes. Some have even been turned down for loan modifications and short-sales in the past, and things looked very dark. It seems as if some lenders are trying to help borrowers more than ever now. The help includes:
- Loan modification temporarily lowering of monthly payment
- Second mortgage forgiveness
- Interest rate reduction to 1% for veterans
- Refinancing with their current lender even though they might not normally qualify
- Settlement to compensate people for unfair treatment due to bad foreclosure processing, but the deadline to apply is 9/30.
I encourage you to call a qualified HUD counselor and contact your lender talking to their mortgage hardship department.