Getting A Loan Modificaitonfrom Your Bank When You Are About To Lose Your Home

By Author: Nick Adama
Total Articles: 197
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Recently I was asked the question "What can I do to get my lender to provide me with paperwork pertaining to loan modification plan". It seems many homeowners are having problems getting their lender to respond to phone calls, and follow up with their foreclosure case or review their loan modification paperwork.

When homeowners are having problems with a customer service representativeat their lender, there are five basic options to help you get help:

1. Call the lender back and keep trying with different agents. As you likely already know, when calling your lender, you will rarely speak with the same employee a second time. In my experience, it's always best to call back and talk with a new employee until you find someone more cooperative.

2. Send your request in writing. Many times, simply sending an "official" looking request, in writing, and faxing it to your lender will get quick results. Just make sure you include a signature authorization page and provide a fax number and a phone number so they may contact you or fax you results.

3. Visit the court that is handling the case and find out ...
... if they can help. In some cases, I've even asked the court to fax a request to the lender on their letter head. Depending on your court, they should be willing to help if you ask them the right way. Any part of your foreclosure case is public record, so if you are simply looking for documents, they will all be available at the courthouse.

4. Use the attorney. In most cases, there is an attorney involved on behalf of the lender. This attorney knows all the details about your case and will most likely answer your questions if you can get them on the phone. If you have your own attorney, you could also ask them to help you with the information you are seeking.

5. Hire a professional. When you need something done with your lender, the fastest and easiest way to make it happen is to hire a professional. I work as a negotiation agent with many lenders and I can get things done immediately with almost any lender out there. What takes a homeowner weeks or even months to accomplish, will generally take me a few minutes or hours. The reason a professional is better at dealing with servicers than a homeowner, is because I do it every day, 10 hours a day. I have more experience and I know these people on a first name basis. I also know all their policies, so when I contact them I have everything I need on hand and I know how to speak their language. Hiring a professional is can not only save your home, but you can save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan and you can eliminate all the additional fees and expenses that have been tacked onto your loan.

Lenders, banks, and servicers are not easy to work with these days. They are severely overworked and underpaid. The representatives have to deal with angry customers all day long and believe me when I say that they all stopped caring a long time ago.

When dealing with servicers, you need to make sure you have authorization to discuss the loan account. You can do this in two ways; the first is to fax is signature authorization from the main account holder and the second is to have have the main account holder call the lender and give them verbal authorization to speak with you. Most lenders will allow a 24 hour verbal authorization to speak with a third party.

Once you are actually authorized to speak with a lender representative about the case, you need to leave your emotions completely out of the situation. You have to assume that they are not sympathetic, after hearing 100's of sob stories each week. In fact, you should assume that they will mock you and make fun of you as soon as you are off the phone, if you become too emotional. I personally experienced this with a client when the representative thought we had already hung up.

Another important mistake many people make is demanding the results they want. You have to remember that you are at their mercy; they don't have to help you and they most likely wont, if you become too demanding. By acting politely and professionally, you will likely get what you are asking for.

When your lender does tell you no, you might try asking them if they can help you think of another solution to your problem. For example, instead of demanding they give you a loan modification, when they tell you no, you could ask them if they had any advice on how you could change your situation so you would be approved. Or maybe they could help you with a workout plan or forbearance agreement. Most people will be inclined to find a way to help, assuming you ask them in a professional manner.

Another question you need to ask in this scenario is what their reason is for not helping you. It may be a simple matter of obtaining the correct authorization or documentation, or it may be speaking to the wrong person or someone who has no authority to help you. Either way, asking the right questions, keeping your cool, and staying in control of the situation should help you get to the bottom of your problem.
Nick publishes articles on the ForeclosureFish website to provide foreclosure help and news to borrowers in need of assistance. The site examines various ways to save a home, including deed in lieu of foreclosure, filing bankruptcy, short sales, defending foreclosure in court, and others. Visit the site for an e-book explaining the basics of foreclosure and how to stop the process: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/