Rate Loan Modification - Start HERE

Simply fill out our confidential request form below for a no obligation consult from a mortgage rate modification agent..

How can a loan Modification Help You?

  • Lower Payment without Refinancing
  • Late fees may be waived
  • Lower your interest rate

Program Raises Loan Mod Success Rate

By:
Kirk Haverkamp | December 20, 2011

Having difficulty getting a mortgage loan modification? Consider foreclosure counseling.

Homeowners who receive foreclosure mitigation counseling are more likely to obtain loan modifications, get bigger reductions in their mortgage payments and are more likely to stay current on their modified mortgages than borrowers who didn’t go through the process.
 
That’s according to a new study of the consumer benefits of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program, conducted by the Urban Institute. The federally funded program, now in its fourth year, is administered by Neighborworks America and provides free foreclosure counseling for financially stressed homeowners around the nation.
 

Nearly twice as likely to get a loan modification

 
Many people are reluctant to take advantage of federal assistance programs, particularly those who are accustomed to thinking of themselves as middle- or upper-middle class. That's true even in cases like this, where the support is only advisory, not material assistance. But the study, which looks at the programs’ first two years, found that participants obtained some significant benefits compared to those who sought loan modifications without NFMC assistance.
 
Homeowners who participated in NFMC counseling were nearly twice as likely to obtain a loan modification that those who did not, the study found, and 67 percent more likely to still be current on their mortgage payments 9 months after the modification. In addition, homeowners who went through counseling were able to lower their payments by an average of $176 a month more than those who didn’t go through the program – an average additional savings of $2,100 a year.
 

Available through multiple entities

 
The program was established in 2007 by Congress and the Bush administration as one of the first responses to the growing foreclosure crisis and got underway in early 2008. The Obama administration later tied it into its Making Home Affordable Program, which includes HAMP loan modifications and HARP mortgage refinancing, and Congress has continued funding each year since.
 
NFMC foreclosure counseling is available through state housing finance agencies, HUD- approved counseling intermediaries and certain Neighborworks local organizations with foreclosure counseling experience. Most states have counseling services available in multiple locations; listings by state or zip code are available here.
 

Free vs. paid loan modification services

 
It should be stressed that these are free, federally supported services, not to be confused with private “foreclosure rescue” operations that charge consumers for assistance. While many assume that a paid service will produce better results than a free one, that isn’t necessarily the case with loan modification services.
 
For one thing, private loan modification services can cost a lot of money – sometimes several thousand dollars, billed up front, at a time when the homeowner in question is already hurting for money. There’s also a good chance you could get ripped off – the Treasury Department and other federal entities recently launched a task force specifically investigating widespread reports of fraud among companies that charge for loan modification services. So if you go that route, proceed with extreme care.
 
 

Browse Mortgage Rates